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The Noble Foods Ltd Pension Scheme has completed a full buyout covering 455 scheme members and dependants, having done a buy-in less than a year ago, amid a wider buyout 'bottleneck'.
The transaction marks the first external full buyout for Utmost Life and Pensions and was supported by software provider Mantle Services, part of the 3173 Group.
The rapid progression from buy-in to buyout “underlines the operational capability and efficiency” that Utmost has developed since entering the BPA market, said Mantle.
As buy-in activity continues to be strong, some industry professionals have warned of a ‘bottleneck’ in schemes moving from buy-in to buyout. Barnett Waddingham’s head of post-transaction and wind-up Beth Allison writes that just over half of buy-in transactions from 2021 have now reached buyout and half of 2022 transactions have progressed to buyout, while just 28% of 2023 transactions have so far completed buyout. This falls to 9% for 2024 deals and just 2% for 2025 buy-ins.
As well as some schemes choosing to stay in buy-in, the main reasons for schemes waiting years until buyout are GMP equalisation, as well as the final data agreement and broader data-cleansing requirements. Unexpected consultation periods and last‑minute changes after final data has been agreed are also sometimes cited.
“Completing a buyout of this scale in under a year is a real demonstration of what’s possible when the right technology underpins the process,” added Chris Tucker, the firm’s chief client success officer.
Gary Needham, who heads up BPA business development at Utmost, said: “This is an important milestone for Utmost which was been underpinned by our partnership with Mantle and their innovative platform, [Mantle Administrator].”
Mantle was appointed by Utmost in Q3 2024 following a competitive procurement process. Mantle supports Utmost across actuarial valuations, benefit calculations, quotations and administration through to the issue of individual member policies.
Utmost wrote nine buy-ins worth £273m last year, according to consultancy Hymans Robertson, having entered the market with two deals in late 2024. Its activity to date suggests it quotes mainly for transactions below £100m.
The insurer said last year it aims to reach more than 5% market share within five years. At the end of 2025, it had a 1% share, the latest bulk annuity report by Hymans suggests.
Is your scheme's move from buy-in to buyout taking longer than expected?
