Rothesay wins Morrisons’s £762m buy-in deal
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Specialist pensions insurer Rothesay has completed a £762m buy-in with the 1967 Section of the Morrisons Retirement Saver Plan, which is sponsored by grocery retailer Wm Morrison Supermarkets.
The transaction, which required no contribution from Morrisons, secures the benefits for all uninsured members of the plan – 2,650 pensioners and dependants and a further 5,483 deferred members.
Rothesay said the policy was structured to accommodate the plan’s illiquid asset run-off.
Steve Southern, chair of trustees, said: “We worked hard with the company and our advisers to enter the market in a position to act quickly and I am very pleased that Rothesay was able to match our ambition, executing quickly and providing certainty over pricing and asset run-off.”
Róisín O’Shea, who is in Rothesay’s business development team, said the demand for de-risking “is the strongest we have ever seen”.
The lead broker on the transaction was Aon, acting for the plan on behalf of both the trustee and company. Clifford Chance provided legal advice to the plan, while DLA Piper advised Rothesay on the legal aspects of the deal.
John Baines, partner at Aon, said: “We were able to help the trustee and company act quickly to capture the market opportunity that arose towards the final quarter of last year when scheme funding significantly improved due to considerable movement in bond yields.
“They were ready to take it due to five years of buy-in preparation, a robust strategy and a nimble decision-making framework. As a result, the benefits for all members are now secured by insurance policies.”
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