The Agfa UK Group Pension Plan has completed a buy-in transaction with Standard Life worth £200m (€233m), covering the benefits of 770 members.
The bulk purchase annuity (BPA) is the second buy-in completed between the pension fund and Standard Life, covering the vast majority of its remaining liabilities.
The first transaction was a £230m partial buy-in completed in 2021 covering 70% of the scheme’s pensioner liabilities. Following completion of the latest transaction, the benefits of the majority of members of the plan are now secured with Standard Life, it was announced.
Hymans Robertson acted as the lead advisers to the trustee for the latest transaction, while legal advice was provided by Squire Patton Boggs.
Tom Clark, chair of trustees at Agfa, said: “The partnership with Standard Life has allowed us to make extraordinary progress in our de-risking strategy.”
Rhian Littlewood, senior business development manager at Standard Life, added: “We are pleased to have been able to build on the first stage of its de-risking journey undertaken in 2021 by working closely with the trustee to monitor pricing and affordability. Once the opportunity arose, we moved quickly to complete a transaction within two weeks, which was crucial to locking in long-term security for all plan members.”
Littlewood also noted that the premium payment was also structured to accommodate the timescales required to disinvest the assets, while still locking into the price opportunity.
James Mullins, partner and head of risk transfer solutions at Hymans Robertson, said that when the consultancy started working with the pension scheme back in 2016, the fund “was in a tough position with a low funding level, a high level of investment risk and with a sponsoring employer in a mature market”.
“We worked with the Trustee to build a comprehensive strategy to improve the position. Just over six years later, I’m delighted to have been able to help the trustee to get to a position where they have insured their members’ benefits, capturing two excellent buy-in opportunities with Standard Life along the way,” Mullins said.
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