Legal & General said its lifetime & retirement interest-only mortgage advances fell 9.8% to £270m from a year ago, “reflecting lower market demand in the current higher interest rate environment”. 

The financial services group’s equity release sales sit in its UK retail unit, which also houses private and workplace annuities.

It said UK retail protection gross premiums edged 0.9% lower to £1.52bn over the period, in its full-year financial statement. 

It added that new business annual protection premiums rose 2% to £153m with “improved margins in what remained a highly competitive market”.

Its other key units — institutional retirement and asset management — performed well allowing the group to post a core operating profit of £1.6bn, while pre-tax profit under IFRS accounting standards stood at £542m.

Last year, the group sold its UK homebuilding business Cala Homes for £1.35bn and its US protection business for £1.8bn.  

It also entered into a partnership with Japanese life insurance company Meiji Yasuda.  

The group unveiled a £500m share buyback and reiterated its pledge to return £5bn to investors over the next three years.

Legal and General chief executive António Simões said: “By sharpening our focus and simplifying our portfolio — through the sale of Cala and US Protection — alongside our strategic partnership with Meiji Yasuda and our investment in Taurus, we are strengthening our ability to generate sustainable growth in our core businesses: institutional retirement, asset management and UK retail.”