Aviva Completes £140 Million Bulk Annuity Deal to Secure Member Benefits

Aviva Completes £140 Million Bulk Annuity Deal to Secure Member Benefits

(IN BRIEF) Aviva has successfully finalized a £140 million bulk purchase annuity full scheme buy-in transaction with the Trustee of the Guilbert UK Retirement Benefits Plan, sponsored by Office Depot UK Pension Sponsor Limited. This transaction covers around 1,500 members and transfers the investment and longevity risks from the Plan to Aviva, ensuring no change in member benefits. PwC led the tender process, providing transaction advice to both the Trustee and the sponsoring company, while Travers Smith offered legal advice, and Mercer provided administration, Scheme Actuary, and Investment advice to the Trustee. Aviva’s Emma Thomas expressed delight in securing member benefits, emphasizing the collaborative efforts among the teams, and the Trustee Chair highlighted the increased security and certainty for Plan members’ benefits.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 17-Jan-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Aviva has completed a £140 million bulk purchase annuity full scheme buy-in transaction with the Trustee of the Guilbert UK Retirement Benefits Plan1 (“Plan”) which is sponsored by Office Depot UK Pension Sponsor Limited.

Aviva has insured the Plan liabilities for around 1,500 members, removing the investment and longevity risk of these members from the Plan. Members will see no change in the benefits they receive as a result of the transaction.

The tender process was led by PwC providing transaction advice to both the Trustee and the sponsoring Company, with Travers Smith providing legal advice and Mercer providing administration, Scheme Actuary and Investment advice to the Trustee.

Emma Thomas, BPA Deal Manager at Aviva, said: “We’re delighted the Trustee selected Aviva to secure member benefits and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure a smooth transition. The transaction was tightly managed and a close collaboration between teams, plus careful preparation helped deliver a smooth and efficient process – an increasingly important consideration for all parties in this busy market.”

Mike Roberts, Director at PAN Trustees and Chair of the Trustee of the Guilbert UK Retirement Benefits Plan, said: “We are delighted to have completed this bulk annuity transaction with Aviva, which will provide greater security and certainty for members’ benefits in the Plan. With a lot of moving pieces and  the constantly evolving landscape of the BPA market, PwC led the process with excellent support from Travers Smith and Mercer to carefully navigate a number of factors to reach this great outcome for both the Trustee and the Company.”

Jani Singh, Risk Transfer deal lead at PwC, said: “As lead advisor to both Company and Trustee, in a market that is busier than ever, we are pleased to have worked to design and transact a deal that met the objectives of both the Trustee and Company. This included paying particular attention to the preparation stage, allowing us to conduct a multiple insurer process. The transaction is the culmination of collaboration by all parties, and we are delighted to reach a successful outcome for the Scheme and its members.”

Michelle Doman, Scheme Actuary of the Plan at Mercer, said: “As a long standing partner with the Trustee of the Plan, we are delighted to see this significant milestone reached and to have been part of the advisory team working with the Trustee and the Company, in this success story.”

Niamh Hamlyn, Partner at Travers Smith, said: “We were delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with the Trustee to achieve this significant milestone for members of the Guilbert Plan. This transaction was a great advert for the benefits of teamwork; close collaboration with the teams at PwC, Mercer and Aviva meant that this transaction could be successfully delivered to tight timescales, ensuring positive member outcomes for the years to come.”

Notes to editors:

• We are the UK’s leading Insurance, Wealth & Retirement business and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
• We help our 18.7 million customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
• We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2022, we paid £23.2 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
• In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have a cut of 25% in the carbon intensity of our investments by 2025 and of 60% by 2030; and Net Zero carbon emissions from our own operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we acknowledge that we have relationships with businesses and existing assets that may be associated with significant emissions. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
• Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
• As at 30 June 2023, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £358 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus as at 30 September 2023 was £7.6 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
• For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
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Media Contact:

Shelley Kernaghan
Retirement and Annuities
Phone: +44 (0) 7800 692 266
Email: shelley.kernaghan@aviva.com

SOURCE: AVIVA