Stora Enso UK Group Pension Scheme has secured a £61m buy-in with Royal London, securing the benefits of 758 members.

Quantum Advisory, which already provided actuarial, administration, and investment advisory services to the trustee, was chosen to provide risk transfer support for the transaction.

Burges Salmon acted as the scheme’s legal advisors, while Royal London was advised by Mayer Brown.

The trustee ran a competitive process prioritising member outcomes and policyholder care.

Commenting on the transaction on behalf of the trustee, Gordon Blum Pension Services Ltd managing director, Gordon Blum, said: “First and foremost, this is an excellent outcome for our members and now means the benefits for all members of the scheme have been fully secured.

“Stora Enso have generously supported the scheme for many years, and achieving this milestone is a testament to this as well as the support we have received from our advisers.

“The competitive process led by Quantum gave us a number of strong options to consider, and we are very pleased to have completed this transaction with Royal London.”

Adding to this, Stora Enso UK Limited director, James Barr, said he is “delighted” that this step has been taken to secure the pension benefits of over 750 current and former employees.

He also aid Stora Enso is “grateful to the sterling work” carried out by the trustee, and advisers, during the past 20 years to “get this over the line”.

The deal means that Royal London has now insured the benefits of over 6,000 members across 11 external buy-in transactions in 2025, taking the total insured under its BPA business to more than £1bn since its launch last year.

Royal London bulk purchase annuity (BPA) origination lead, Moin Patala, said the insurer was “proud” to have partnered with the trustee of the Stora Enso UK Group Pension Scheme to secure the benefits of more than 750 members.

Patala added that the insurer is “looking forward” to welcoming both the trustee and their members to Royal London.

Quantum Advisory principal consultant, Chris Mason, said: “This is a really positive outcome for members, the trustee and Stora Enso. Following a lot of hard work by all advisers, the scheme was well prepared to approach the market.

“We were very pleased to achieve such a high level of insurer engagement and competitive pricing, giving the trustee a wide range of choice.”

---