Rothesay agrees to £236m full scheme buy-in for Signet Group Limited

11 August 2021

Rothesay, the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a £236m full scheme buy-in of the Signet Group Pension Scheme (the “Scheme”). The Scheme is sponsored by Signet Group Limited (“the Sponsor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Signet Jewelers Limited, a Bermuda-based company that is the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery and owns H. Samuel and Ernest Jones in the UK.

As a full scheme buy-in, the transaction secures the defined benefit liabilities for the entire Scheme, including 825 deferred members and 1,084 pensioners in payment, who will become direct policyholders with Rothesay on completion of the intended buy-out of the Scheme in due course.

All Signet Group Pension Scheme members were notified in writing of this change by the Trustee and provided additional information. Signet Group Pension Scheme members with questions should contact XPS, the Scheme administrator. The lead broker on the transaction was Mercer, acting for the Scheme. Legal advice was provided to the Scheme by Sackers and to Rothesay by Gowling WLG.

Source: Rothesay