KION Group – a supplier of forklifts and warehouse equipment – has completed a £250m (€301m) full scheme buy-in transaction with Canada Life. The deal covers five different UK defined benefit pension schemes within the group, covering the benefits of over 3,000 members.
Vidett was the sole trustee of the five schemes, with Mercer acting as lead de-risking adviser. Pinsent Mason acted as legal adviser to the trustee, and Canada Life was advised by Eversheds Sutherland.
Vidett has been the professional trustee to KION Group schemes since 2016 and has been working closely with KION “during this intensive project to achieve this greater security for members’ benefits”, said James Double, client director at Vidett.
“This has been a complex transaction, and we’ve worked collaboratively with Mercer and Pinsent Masons to proactively find solutions to issues that emerged along the way. It’s a great example of how teamwork helps achieve pension scheme objectives,” he added.
Shreyas Sridhar, business development director, bulk purchase annuities, at Canada Life, said: “This transaction demonstrates that we are continuing to successfully modernise and build our capabilities in our bulk annuities business at Canada Life, particularly on schemes with deferred liabilities. It also evidences our ability to manage complexities that arise from transactions with multiple schemes.”
Maurice Speer, partner in Mercer’s risk transfer team, noted that the process started with a “patient and diligent market preparation approach” two and a half years ago, with a focus on essential data and benefit preparation, market approach strategy, and clearly defined success criteria upfront.
“With the schemes packaged together, a competitive process achieved very attractive pricing for all schemes. The transaction completed within tight timescales due to the partnership approach between Canada Life, Vidett, Pinsent Masons, Kion and Mercer,” he said.
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