Pension Corporation (PC) was one of the few firms to have a successful 2008, writing £1.6bn of new insurance business.

The provider of risk management solutions to defined benefit (DB) pension funds has also announced that its corporate subsidiaries, telent and Quadriga, had a positive effect on its operational profit performances over the year, with a combined EBITDA of £46million in the year to March 2008.

PC recorded the largest ever UK pension insurance buy-out with the Thorn Pension Fund, and averaged over 70 per cent of insurance company assets in cash or gilts during 2008.

"Pension Corporation is today well placed to capitalise on the progress of the first three years and to be one of the market leaders in the UK pension insurance market, working with trustees and sponsors in the provision of risk transfer solutions that bring safety and security to pension fund members," commented Edmund Truell, group chief executive. "The principles of pension risk transfer are now well understood. Trustees, their advisers and sponsors widely recognise that pension risks are not comfortable bedfellows with corporate balance sheets."

He added that PC is unusual as it is able to provide combined corporate finance and insurance solutions that are designed to meet their customers' needs. "We look forward to building on this very substantial progress in 2009."

The investable assets held by PC remained highly liquid over 2008, and until December subsidiary Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) held over 70 per cent of its assets in cash, gilts or another liquid instruments. In December, PIC invested in high-grade corporate bonds, but maintains that it had negligible exposure to the Lehman and AIG debacles.

PIC's total new business of £1.6bn was made up of five insurance transactions, and of these PIC was able to increase the pension benefits paid to members in two of the cases.

This part of the company is, PC believes, poised to build on its 22 per cent UK market share in pension insurance deals.

- Pensions Age March 2009

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