Drinks maker AG Barr has completed a £41 million pension scheme buy-in, the third and final one for the scheme.
The beverage manufacturer’s brands include Irn-Bru, Rubicon, Funkin and Boost.
The trustee board of the AG Barr 2008 pension and life assurance scheme carried out the transaction with insurer Canada Life, which covers 40% of the scheme’s liabilities through earlier buy-ins.
The latest transaction covers the remaining 160 deferred members and 140 pensioners of the defined benefit pension scheme, preserving their future benefits.
Hymans Robertson was the pension scheme broker, actuarial adviser, administrator and de-risking investment adviser. The trustee’s legal adviser was Shepherd and Wedderburn, while Canada Life was advised by in-house lawyers.
Shreyas Sridhar, managing director for bulk purchase annuities at Canada Life, said: “The established working relationship had a positive influence on securing a good outcome for the scheme and its members. We are proud that the trustee chose to work exclusively with Canada Life on this bulk purchase annuities transaction as a result of the high bar we set ourselves in our client relationship management.
“By monitoring market conditions and affordability, the trustee board was able to move quickly at the right time to execute the buy-in. We are grateful for the trust and collaboration of the trustee board and their advisers, which allowed us to deliver an outstanding outcome for the scheme and its members.”
Mahad Farooqui, risk transfer specialist at Hymans Robertson and lead adviser, added: “It marks a significant milestone working with the trustee board on their journey to secure the long-term future of members’ benefits of the scheme. The continuity of working with the same insurer across all three transactions has brought real efficiencies and confidence to the process, resulting in a great outcome for the trustee and members of the scheme.”
Amanda Switzer, partner at Hymans Robertson and scheme actuary, said: “We’ve seen the scheme’s funding go from strength to strength and are proud to have played a part in getting to this point where members’ benefits have been secured, a great outcome for all parties and, most importantly, for the scheme’s members.”
