Plumbing services company Wolseley has secured a £600m buy-in for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme with Aviva. The deal was finalised in September and insures the benefits of nearly 10,000 members of the Wolseley Group Retirement Benefits Plan.
It follows a similar-sized buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation that Wolseley completed in 2017. This year’s transaction secures all remaining uninsured liabilities and was facilitated with a £41m payment from Ferguson, Wolseley’s parent company.
Aon was the lead adviser on the deal, while CMS provided legal advice to the trustee board, which is chaired by Vidett. Wolseley was advised by LCP and Freshfields.
Vidett’s Wayne Phelan, chair of the trustee board, said: “This is an important milestone for the plan and an extremely positive development for members… We have been working closely with the company, advisers and Aviva to achieve this extra security for members, which would not have been possible now without the company’s commitment and additional financial support.”
Hannah Brinton, partner at Aon, added: “A competitive auction process and careful management of illiquid asset sales ultimately led to a great outcome for all parties and, importantly, members of the plan. This further underpins that there continues to be opportunities in the insurance market for well-positioned schemes.”
Julia Mattison, UK finance director at Ferguson, said: “Ferguson is proud to have supported the plan trustee in achieving this significant buy-in with Aviva. This transaction demonstrates our ongoing commitment to protecting the security of member benefits for the future. We are grateful for the collaboration between the company, trustee and all advisers during this complex process.”
Utmost insures troubled pub group’s pension schemes
Earlier this month, Utmost Life & Pensions – one of the newest entrants to the UK’s bulk annuity market – announced two buy-ins worth a combined £62m with pension schemes sponsored by Stonegate Pub Company, the UK’s largest pub group.
The transactions were overseen by a joint committee including the trustee board – chaired by Bestrustees – along with lead broker Isio and legal adviser Eversheds Sutherland.
Laura Parker, senior insurance manager at Isio, said bringing two schemes to market at the same time “led to highly competitive pricing”. Preparing for the transactions involved work on data, benefits, and the schemes’ illiquid assets.
Gary Needham, head of bulk annuity business development at Utmost, said: “Completing the transactions was made easier through continuous positive collaboration with the trustees and their advisers, and with the support of our external legal advisers CMS.”
It has been widely reported today (17 November) that Stonegate Group is exploring the sale of more than 1,000 pubs in an effort to manage its debt burden.
Transport Friendly Society seals buy-in with Just
At the smaller end of the bulk annuity scale, Just Group has insured Transport Friendly Society’s DB pension scheme for £3.3m, using its Beacon process for price monitoring for small schemes.
The deal was completed in June 2025 and insures the benefits of all 30 members of the pension scheme, including 15 deferred members and 15 pensioners.
EY was the lead risk transfer adviser, while Gowling provided legal advice to the trustee board. Just Group was advised by its in-house legal counsel.
Ali Ramezankhani, Transport Friendly Society’s chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to support the trustees in securing this buy-in, which represents a significant step in safeguarding the future benefits of our employees and former colleagues.
“This transaction reflects our ongoing commitment to the scheme and to ensuring that members’ pensions are protected with a high level of certainty. We appreciate the collaborative efforts of all parties involved in bringing this to a successful conclusion.”
Eimear Kelly, partner at EY, added: “Transactions like this demonstrate that even smaller schemes can achieve meaningful de-risking outcomes with the right preparation and collaborative approach.”
