L&G bags £18m buy-in with Sleepeezee’s pension plan
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Legal & General has completed an £18m buy-in transaction with the Sleepeezee Retirement Benefits Plan 1975, securing the benefits of around 200 retired and deferred members.
The sponsoring company, Kent-based Sleepeezee Holdings Ltd, is a manufacturer of mattresses dating back to 1824.
The insurer said the plan was an existing client of Legal & General Investment Management, adding: “The trustees carried out work in preparation for this transaction, including aligning the plan’s assets more closely with expected insurance pricing by transitioning into LGIM buyout aware funds.”
Rebecca Otter, L&G Retirement Institutional, said the key for smaller schemes entering the market was to ensure they are well prepared.
She said: “The preparation the trustees had carried out, combined with our streamlined approach, meant we were able to price the plan quickly, making the process seamless and straightforward.”
The trustees and the sponsor appointed PwC as specialist adviser for the transaction and legal advice was provided to the trustees by Hogan Lovells.
Sam Whalley, lead risk transfer adviser at PwC, said the market was “busier than ever before” and the consultancy was able to help structure the sponsor financing, which secured the buy-in.
Whalley added: “Through the use of the LGIM buyout aware funds, we were able to support the trustee to achieve a level of price certainty during the execution phase that is rare for the scheme of this size.”
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