On the go: The WHSmith Pension Trust has secured a £1bn full buy-in with Phoenix Group subsidiary Standard Life.
The bulk purchase annuity transaction covers the liabilities of the 13,000 members of the trust’s retail section. The news section of the scheme secured a buy-out with Legal & General in December.
According to WHSmith pension trustee chair Jeremy Stone, the transaction "represents the fulfilment of a strategy that the trustee and corporate sponsor started out on nearly 20 years ago".
"Our joint focus on derisking and improving funding eventually led to the point where we were in a position to transact with Standard Life, to secure the benefits of all members," Stone said.
Standard Life “provided a valuable price lock in volatile markets and were easy to work with throughout the process”, he added.
LCP acted as lead adviser on the transaction, while legal advice was provided by Mayer Brown International and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang.
This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com
