On the go: The leisure group Whitbread has agreed with the trustee of its defined benefit pension scheme, the Whitbread Group Pension Fund, to make a one-off contribution to the pension fund of up to £380m.
In an announcement on January 3, Whitbread said: “The agreement will release Costa from its obligations to the pension fund which will significantly de-risk the pension fund’s investment strategy. This one-off contribution will replace the previously agreed deficit recovery plan, which would have required Whitbread to make total payments of £326m to the pension fund over the next four years.”
The agreement was announced on the same day that Whitbread plc completed the sale of Costa Limited to The Coca-Cola Company. The sale proceeds of £3.9bn have been received in cash.
