Members of the Box Clever pension scheme will receive their pension benefits in full following an in-principle deal between The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and ITV.
The TV rental businesses of Granada, now ITV, and Thorn, now Carmelite, together formed Box Clever as a joint venture in 2000. Employees were then transferred to the new organisation and enrolled in the Box Clever pension scheme.
Prior to the collapse of Box Clever in 2011, ITV extracted value from the joint venture. TPR opened an anti-avoidance investigation and after a legal battle, issued financial support directions to ITV and the associated entities in 2020, which required them to provide reasonable financial assistance for the Box Clever scheme.
When an agreement could not be reached, TPR issued further proceedings that sought a contribution notice for the scheme’s full buy-out deficit, which has been estimated at around £76 million.
The agreement in principle will see all of the 2,800 members, who are both ex Granada and Thorn employees, transferred to the ITV Pension Scheme. Those who have been receiving benefits at Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levels since 2014 will now receive full scheme benefits and back payments, with the trustees of both the Box Clever scheme and the PPF supporting the agreement.
As a result, TPR has agreed to cease regulatory action against ITV and the associated entities.
Mel Charles, interim executive director of regulatory compliance at TPR, said: “Following this long-running case, we are glad that there is an expected settlement under which ITV will accept the Box Clever pension scheme members into the ITV scheme. This news illustrates how we will use our powers to protect savers and robustly pursue matters, through the courts if necessary, to reach a satisfactory resolution.”
