Scheme-to-scheme tie up results in £40m secondaries deal
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A single scheme has sold £40m worth of private debt secondaries to a consortium of pension funds via limited partner-led online platform MeltX, showing that schemes are buying as well as selling such assets.
For the sale of a private debt fund position from one UK pension scheme to a syndication of other UK pension schemes, eligibility was “restricted almost exclusively to UK pension buyers”, requiring “rapid mobilisation, competitive pricing and fast execution”, according to MeltX.
Duncan Willsher, a client director at trustee firm at Vidett who is an independent trustee for the selling scheme, praised MeltX for its work and said: “We were in a dynamic, complex situation with many moving parts.”
He added: “This will ultimately allow the scheme to secure member benefits through a risk transfer that might otherwise not have been possible right now.”
Stuart Hanson, co-founder of MeltX, said the transaction validates three key convictions the founders had – the first being that while many pension schemes are looking to sell illiquid allocations, there are also schemes looking to access buying opportunities.
Research by mallowstreet, in partnership with secondaries platform MeltX, suggests sales by UK pension schemes could represent about 5% to 10% of global LP-led secondary market sales this year, assuming 2026 activity is in line with last year’s.
Meanwhile, half of advisers told mallowstreet that at least one or two of their clients would be interested in buying secondaries, and over three-quarters think a more efficient market would make schemes at least somewhat more willing to increase illiquid allocations.
Hanson said the transaction also “shows that consultants have a big role in helping clients on both the buy and the sell side, so our independence is key to removing barriers to multiple consultants taking part in processes while managing their conflicts of interest”.
His third conviction is that an online platform can help reduce friction in these processes and help pension schemes get liquidity quickly, “at a fair price and for lower costs”.
The selling scheme had legal advice from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, while Hogan Lovells represented the consortium of buyers.
A December report by Russell Investments found defined benefit schemes are looking to both sell and buy private credit but tend towards wanting to unwind private equity and property holdings.
Which private market assets are more likely to be bought as secondaries?
