Co-operative Pension Scheme (Pace)
We have advised the Trustee of the Co-operative Pension Scheme (Pace) on:
- A £1bn buy-in with Aviva Life & Pensions UK Ltd. This was the first buy-in for the Co-op section of the scheme. A significant landmark in their de-risking journey. (Jan 2020)
- A further £1bn buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation plc. Securing liabilities of around 7,000 members within the Co-op section of the scheme. (Feb 2020)
- A £400m buy-in with PIC securing liabilities of around 2,000 members in the bank section – a first buy-in for this section. (April 2020)
- A 350m bulk annuity buy-in with Aviva. The Trustees benefitted from the contractual terms negotiated in January, allowing them to move swiftly to execution on an expedited timeline. (May 2020)
Staples UK
We advised on the sponsoring employer, stationery and office supplies firm, Staples UK Limited on the £47m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G), covering over 175 deferred members and 85 retirees in the Universal Office Supplies Pension Scheme.
Aviva Staff Pension Scheme
We advised the Trustee of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme on an umbrella buy-in contract with Aviva Life with an initial value of £1.7bn in October 2019. This represents the largest bulk purchase annuity contract entered into by Aviva Life to date.
Rothesay Life plc
We advised Rothesay Life plc on a £3.8bn buy-in with the Allied Domecq Pension Fund in September 2019. The transaction is the fifth largest buy-in transaction announced to date by our pensions practice which has built a reputation for record breaking deals in this area.
The buy-in secures the majority of the Fund’s liabilities and is the largest scheme buy-in on record that incorporates deferred members.
Tate & Lyle Group Pension Scheme
We advised the Trustee of the Tate & Lyle Group Pension Scheme on its £930m buy-in with Legal & General in September 2019.
British American Tobacco UK Pension Fund
We advised the Trustee of the British American Tobacco UK Pension Fund on a £3.4bn buy-in for pensioner and deferred members of the Fund in July 2019. The deal represents the third largest buy-in to date, and will help to improve the security of members’ benefits.
Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund
We advised the Trustee of the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund on its £4.6bn buy-in with Legal and General which signed in June 2019.
Pearson Pension Plan
We advised the Trustee of the Pearson Pension Plan on two umbrella buy-in policies with Aviva and Legal & General in 2017, covering £1.2bn of pensioner liabilities, and the addition of a further £500m of liabilities to the Legal & General policy in early 2019.
Marks and Spencer Pension Scheme
We advised the Trustee of the Marks and Spencer Pension Scheme on two umbrella buy-in policies in 2018 with Aviva and Phoenix Life, a further umbrella buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation in 2019 and an additional transaction with Phoenix Life under the existing umbrella buy-in in 2019. These cover in total £2.9bn of the Scheme’s liabilities.
Rentokil Initial 2015 Pension Scheme
We advised the Trustee of the Rentokil Initial 2015 Pension Scheme on its £1.5bn buy-out with Pension Insurance Corporation plc completed at the end of 2018.
Dresdner Kleinwort Pension Plan
We advised the Trustees of the Dresdner Kleinwort Pension Plan on their £1.2bn buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation plc in which covered both the Plan’s final salary section and hybrid money purchase section.
