Reach, a UK publisher with titles such as Mirror, Daily Star and OK!, has secured the pension benefits of 3,200 members of the Trinity Retirement Benefit Scheme by completing a £270m bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transaction with M&G.
The transaction was executed by Prudential Assurance Company Limited, M&G’s wholly-owned subsidiary, providing life and pensions solutions. This is the pension fund’s second and final buy-in, insuring all remaining members, it was announced.
LCP acted as the lead transaction adviser for the scheme, with DLA Piper providing legal advice to the trustees, Aon acted as scheme actuary, and Mercer provided covenant advice. Hymans Robertson and Slaughter and May advised Reach.
Susan Anyan, chair of the scheme’s trustees and a professional trustee at Capital Cranfield, said: “This successful outcome reflects the hard work, shared ambition and dedication of both the Trustee and Reach plc, heavily supported throughout by a multidisciplinary team of expert advisers.”
Darren Fisher, chief financial officer of Reach, said: “This successful transaction is an important milestone for the company and the scheme. We have worked closely with the trustee of the scheme over several years to reach this point, and it is a testament to the collaborative approach taken by all parties that we have been able to achieve this positive outcome for both the scheme members and the company’s shareholders.”
Rosie Fantom, head of pension risk transfer origination and execution at M&G, said: “This transaction underlines M&G’s position as a leading provider in the bulk annuity market and we remain committed to supporting trustees and schemes in managing pension risk, backed by our strong financial foundation and proven expertise in execution.”
