The Barnett & Hall Holdings Pension Scheme has completed a £21m full scheme buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society, securing retirement benefits for around 110 members, including 105 non-pensioner members.

The transaction was led by PwC UK, whilst legal advice was provided to the trustee by Pinsent Masons.

This represents the scheme’s first pension risk transfer (PRT) deal with the L&G team, although the trustees are expected to continue to work closely with L&G going forwards, in an effort to take the scheme towards a potential future buyout.

Commenting on the news, chair of trustees, Declan Billington, said: “We are delighted to secure this buy-in with L&G, meaning all scheme benefits are now covered by insurance contracts.

“The increased security means it is a great result for members, with the focused approach taken in collaboration with the company and advisers meaning we were able to engage with L&G in a busy market to provide us with a solution which met our objectives much sooner than expected.”

W&R Barnett Limited chief executive, William Barnett, highlighted the transaction as a “fantastic result” for both the trustee and the company, emphasising that to be able to work collaboratively with the trustee to secure member benefits was a “great outcome”.

“Working with PwC as an independent transaction advisor meant we were able to call on their experience of executing PRT transactions,” he continued.

“This, coupled with their market relationships and view of live market pricing for similar schemes with a significant non-pensioner membership meant we could secure the transaction with no further contributions required.”

Indeed, PwC pension risk transfer specialist, Ross Breckon, emphasised that PwC’s role as the independent transaction advisor meant it was able to engage with the insurance market without any conflicts of interest.

“This meant we could achieve the desired terms and pricing based on the transaction objectives established by the company and trustees,” he explained.

Adding to this, L&G Retirement Institutional actuarial manager, Matthew Dales, commented: “Having built a strong reputation for transacting with a variety of scheme sizes and membership profiles at effective pricing levels, we were able to agree a partnership with the trustees.

“We look forward to welcoming our new pension members to L&G as we work with the trustees on the last stage of their de-risking journey.”

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