UK insurer Utmost Life and Pensions has appointed Aberdeen Investments to manage a commercial real estate debt mandate.

The mandate will support the insurer’s growing bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business and broader pension risk transfer plans, Aberdeen said.

The £397.5bn asset manager said it has completed the first transaction under the mandate, providing financing secured against a prime Grade A office asset in central London.

Read more: UK insurers “resilient” under stress despite growing private credit allocations 

“As we continue to grow our BPA business, securing access to high-quality private market assets is an important component of our investment strategy,” said Craig Baker, chief investment officer at Utmost Life and Pensions.

The mandate comes as Aberdeen’s Strategic Insurance Group, a dedicated global team focused on serving insurance companies and reinsurers, was also appointed earlier this year by Flood Re, the UK’s government-backed flood reinsurance scheme, to manage a £1bn credit mandate.

Read more: More than half of insurers set to increase private credit exposure

“Since entering the UK BPA market, Utmost Life and Pensions have brought welcome competition and a differentiated approach,” said Matthew Smith, global head of the Strategic Insurance Group at Aberdeen Investments.

“We are pleased to support their continued growth through the deployment of our significant expertise in managing highly bespoke private credit asset mandates under the Solvency UK matching adjustment regime.”

Read more: Institutional investors maintain private credit exposure despite headlines