Legal & General (L&G) has insured a trio of pension schemes through buy-ins worth a combined £86m.
The schemes are sponsored by an unnamed family-owned company in the manufacturing and construction sectors, according to Broadstone, which advised on the deals.
The buy-in has insured the benefits of 176 deferred members and 720 pensioners across the three schemes, and did not require additional contributions from the sponsor.
Broadstone said the three transactions took just under six weeks to complete. Bringing the three schemes to market together ensured the tender was competitive, which was particularly important for the smaller plans, according to Broadstone’s George Whitaker.
“With all three schemes considering their endgame options at broadly the same time, we advised the trustees to consider bringing them to market together, with the aim of securing an improved deal for the smaller schemes by virtue of the larger scheme transacting alongside,” he explained.
“The resulting competitive quotation process ensured that we delivered the best possible outcome for all three schemes, their members, and the sponsoring employers.”
Nigel Brice, chair of the trustee board, said: “With the legacy defined benefit schemes now insured, the sponsoring employers can move forward with their plans for investment and growth, while the trustees and members can rest assured that full benefits have been secured with one of the insurance market leaders.”
The trustees received legal advice from DLA Piper, while L&G was advised by its in-house legal team.
Escrow helps consultancy seal buy-in
Elsewhere, Just Group has insured the Noble Denton Consultants Limited Pension Scheme for £11.4m. The buy-in transaction covers 106 members of the scheme, which is sponsored by a UK subsidiary of Norwegian consultancy firm DNV.
The trustee board approached the insurance market in September last year after completing preparatory work, and was able to execute the buy-in before the end of 2025.
Alan Greenlees, client director at Zedra, the scheme’s sole trustee provider, highlighted the use of escrow arrangements to ringfence funds for the transaction, which he said “gave both the trustees and sponsor greater flexibility and certainty over a 2025 transaction”.
Taylor Wessing provided legal advice to the trustee board, while Just was advised by its in-house legal team.
