Plus: Engineering company Moog has also secured a £25m buy-in with Just Group.
The transaction covers most of the liabilities of the Greggs plc 1978 Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme.
Greggs provided additional funding support, which facilitated the buy-in as part of the trustees’ long-term de-risking strategy.
David Brown, chair of the trustees, said the deal with Aviva would allow the scheme to take the next step in its de-risking strategy.
Hymans Robertson was the lead transaction adviser and legal advice was provided by Eversheds Sutherland.
Verity Hastie, risk transfer specialist at Hymans Robertson, said: “It’s been a pleasure to advise the Greggs trustees on their de-risking strategy in recent years and to help them secure an excellent outcome with Aviva. The scheme is now in a solid financial position and we look forward to helping the trustees as they continue their journey post buy-in.”
Paul Donnelly, deal manager at Aviva, added: “The trustees and Greggs had clear priorities, from the outset – to partner with a financially strong and trusted insurance company, with a focus on first-class member care and a responsible investment ethos.”
Moog engineers £25m buy-in with Just
Engineering company Moog has completed a £25m buy-in with Just Group, covering 167 deferred and retired members of its DB scheme.
The deal is the result of three years of work between the trustees, the sponsoring employer and consultancy group Gallagher, and came to a head in May this year. The buy-in was concluded in June.
The preparation work included guaranteed minimum pension equalisation, which Gallagher said would help accelerate the process of buying out and winding up the scheme.
Open Trustees was the scheme’s independent trustee and Osborne Clarke provided legal advice.
Jonathan Hazlett, managing director at Open Trustees, said: “We’re really pleased to have secured plan members’ benefits in full with Just Group at a competitive price in a busy market in short timescales.
“This transaction is evidence of the great value associated with working collaboratively with your sponsor, advisers and an insurer on an exclusive basis to secure members’ pensions for the future.”
Gulf International Bank targets insurance deal
The trustees of the Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited Pension Scheme have appointed consultancy group Isio as risk settlement adviser to help work towards an insurance transaction.
Karen Gainsford, director at Isio, will lead the Isio team working with the scheme. She said: “We have longstanding experience providing solutions to pension schemes’ de-risking challenges and are looking forward to extending our expertise to the Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited Pension Scheme. Our innovative approach will enable us to deliver a tailored strategy for the trustees so we can optimise outcomes for the scheme and its members.”
IGG provides professional trustee services to the scheme, which had approximately £146m in assets at the end of 2023, according to the Gulf International Bank's annual report.
Additional reporting by Nick Reeve.
