The Morgan Crucible Company has sold the liabilities for the pensioners in its scheme in a deal worth in excess of £160m to Lucida.

This is the largest partial scheme buyout for an on-going pension scheme so far this year.

Richard Murphy, partner at Lane Clark and Peacock, which advised Morgan Crucible on the buyout, said: "The objectives of Morgan Crucible and the trustees of the Morgan Crucible pension schemes on quality, security and value were strongly aligned. By structuring the buyout contract as an investment of the trustees, we were able to ensure that transaction was a win for all concerned.

"The trustees now have the security that pensions currently in payment are provided by a Financial Services Authority regulated insurance company backed by substantial capital, with the comfort that Morgan Crucible still stands behind the pensions promises as before."

This comes weeks after Rank Group sold its defined benefit pension scheme. Murphy added there will be "rapid developments and emerging opportunities' in the pension buyout market. "Over the past few months LCP has seen a surge in demand for specialist buyout advice from companies and trustees considering buyout as part of the risk management of their pension schemes," he said.