AQA Education has completed a £120m (€142m) full scheme buy-in with Rothesay.
The transaction was completed in January 2025 and secures the benefits of all 869 scheme members, comprising 471 pensioners and dependents, as well as 398 deferred members.
The scheme is sponsored by AQA Education – an independent non-profit charity and examination board providing GCSEs, A-levels and vocational qualifications with a focus on assessment and curriculum development in the UK.
WTW acted as the lead adviser on the deal, as well as scheme actuary and investment adviser; Mayer Brown provided legal advice to the trustee, and Rothesay received legal advice from Gowling.
Bruce Guthrie, chair of the trustees, said: “The quick execution of this transaction is testament to the excellent preparation undertaken by the trustees and the expertise of our advisers, alongside the execution certainty delivered by Rothesay’s proven offering.”
Nick Stevens, chief finance and corporate services officer at AQA, added that given the buoyancy of the pensions insurance market, it was “important to plan and invest in our scheme to ensure it was well-prepared”.
He continued: “To secure the pensions of all scheme members with Rothesay represents a really positive outcome for the scheme’s members and AQA.”
Katie Overton, business development at Rothesay, said that in a busy and competitive pension risk transfer market, the scheme being well prepared enabled the insurer to transact “efficiently, providing long-term security for its members”.
Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine
No comments yet