The London Waste Limited Pension Scheme has completed a £22m buy-in with Royal London, securing the retirement benefits of around 200 members.

Hymans Robertson and Squire Patton Boggs provided advice to the trustee on the deal, which represented Royal London’s tenth buy-in transaction and the second working with Capital Cranfield.

Royal London BPA origination lead, Moin Patala, highlighted the deal as a demonstration of Royal London's "compelling" bulk annuity offering, arguing that the collaboration between the scheme and other stakeholders helped showcase "real nimbleness", with the contract signed within three weeks of entering formal exclusivity.

“It was excellent working with Hymans Robertson and Capital Cranfield," she added.

"We're especially pleased to work with John Nestor again – it’s brilliant to see trustees returning to us so quickly at this stage in our journey, as it highlights the strength of our proposition, customer service, and in-house BPA administration."

Capital Cranfield professional trustee, John Nestor, also stressed the importance of collaboration, emphasising that "all stakeholders agreed on the mission, the part they would play and the resources they could provide in the delivery of the de-risking exercise".

"My colleague Ryan Ellett and I, the former trustees and the employer, London Energy, are delighted to reach this milestone in the de-risking journey for the scheme," he continued.

“We were especially impressed by the cultural bond that the stakeholders set as the foundation in the discovery stage of the process.

“This has been a priority for the scheme and the employer and although there were some initial setbacks in the early stages all the advisers pulled together to resolve the issues.

“We believed that Royal London could provide a strong proposition to the trustee and all stakeholders, and this belief was matched by the solution delivered in a very efficient and competitive manner."

Also commenting on the deal, Hymans Robertson head of core transactions and risk transfer specialist, Iain Church, said: “We’re delighted to have supported the Trustee in delivering this successful buy-in — a key step in de-risking the scheme and enhancing member security.

"This outcome was made possible thanks to the agile and experienced decision-making of the sole trustee model, and the close collaboration and financial support from the sponsor. We look forward to continuing to support the scheme in the next phase of its journey.”

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