how can I realise capital on my annuity?

It all depends on the terms of your annuity. In general, with an annuity, you give someone else all of your money and then they give you a return over a specified period of time. You can usually do better than an annuity by investing directly, but every situation is different. Annuities are huge money makers for investment/insurance companies. That is because they invest your money and keep all the earnings over their contracted payout to you. So if they invest it well, you don't get the extra. However, if they invest it poorly, you don't take the loss (for the most part). Some variable annuities fluctuate and when rates are down (as they are now) they pay out much less. An alternative would be to invest in a managed portfolio, where you pay a fee (usually 1% or so), but you realize all the gains. You need to talk with more than one investment professional and also look at tax implications.