United Utilities is a FTSE-100 listed water supply company. The Schemes are existing clients of Legal & General, with Legal & General Investment Management (“LGIM”) having managed a proportion of the Schemes’ assets since 1998.
Legal & General provided a bespoke price lock to the assets held by the Schemes, including the assets held with LGIM. This removed the risk for the Trustees of the buy-in price changing relative to the value of the Schemes’ assets while the transactions were agreed.
Aon advised the Trustees of the Schemes throughout the transactions and led the broking process while Sackers provided legal advice to the Trustees and Mercer acted as the Trustees’ strategic investment adviser. The Company was advised by LCP and Slaughter and May. Clifford Chance provided legal advice to Legal & General.
Andrew Kail, Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General Retirement Institutional: We’re pleased to have supported the Trustees in reaching this significant milestone in their de-risking journey. It was a pleasure to work closely with a longstanding Legal & General client and its advisers to put in place an arrangement that provides further long-term financial security to the Schemes’ members.
We’re on track for one of our busiest years ever, having now written £6.7 billion of pension risk transfer business in the UK year-to-date. We look forward to continuing to support pension schemes throughout their de-risking journeys to reach their desired objectives.”
Gary Dixon, Chair of Trustee Boards: We’re delighted to have completed this buy-in transaction across our two pension schemes, providing security for all our members and taking a further step on our de-risking journey. The Trustees and Company worked collaboratively throughout the process with excellent support from our advisers Aon, Mercer and Sackers.”
John Baines, Partner in Aon’s Risk Settlement Group: As a result of a clear strategy, a collaborative approach and meticulous planning, the Trustees and Company have achieved their highly bespoke transaction objectives. By insuring the majority of liabilities for both Schemes, we helped develop and implement a number of innovative mechanisms to future-proof the transaction, that will result in increased security for all members.”
Legal & General Assurance Society Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 00166055. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA. We are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
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