Gartmore Group’s defined benefits pension scheme has entered into a buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).
The transaction covers around £160 million of liabilities and all 600 members of the Gartmore Pension Scheme.
The trustee of Gartmore Group’s pension scheme was advised by Lane Clark and Peacock (LCP) and Sacker and Partners, while PIC was advised by law firm Herbert Smith.
Gartmore Group was acquired by Henderson Group in April 2011.
Andrew Formica, chief executive at Henderson Group, said: “We are pleased that the trustee of the Gartmore pension scheme has entered into this buy-in agreement with PIC, which removes risk from the pension fund and most related risks from our shareholders following the acquisition of Gartmore in 2011.”
Mark Ashworth, head of the pensions trusteeship division of Law Debenture and chairman of the trustee, said: “The trustee entered into this insurance contract to protect the long-term security of members’ pension benefits. This is a path the trustee has been looking to take since before the Henderson acquisition of Gartmore.
“The success of this transaction is testament to what can be achieved through effective decision-making when trustees and sponsors, and their respective advisers, work closely together.”
David Collinson, co-head of business origination at PIC, added: “The trustee and its advisers had clearly managed pensions risk extremely well over the past few years, and having monitored market movements carefully was able to move very quickly to secure member benefits.”
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