Standard Life completes £680m buy-in of the Whitbread Group Pension Fund

14 July 2022

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has concluded a £680 million Bulk Purchase Annuity (“BPA”) transaction covering c8,000 members of the Whitbread Group Pension Fund (“the Scheme”).

The transaction is the first by the Trustee, significantly reducing the risks associated with the underlying members’ benefits.

WTW acted as the lead advisers for this transaction, while legal advice was provided by Reed Smith.

Kieran Mistry, Senior Business Development Manager at Standard Life, commented: “It’s exciting to support the Trustee in securing their first buy-in, taking risk off the table in a volatile economic environment. We thoroughly enjoyed working closely and collaboratively with the Trustee and its advisers to secure this transaction. We look forward to partnering with the Fund on its journey. For schemes who have not yet reached buyout, pensioner buy-ins continue to offer a fantastic opportunity to lock down risk over time, and form strategic partnerships with insurers along the way.”

Keith Jones, Chair of Whitbread Pension Trustees said: “This buy-in is a key stage in the Fund’s de-risking journey. It helps to provide greater certainty to members about the security of their benefits and we are delighted to have completed it with Standard Life.”

Whitbread PLC was advised by LCP and Slaughter and May.

Source: Standard Life