The sponsoring company, Sleepeezee Holdings Limited, is a leading UK manufacturer of mattresses; it celebrates 100 years of business next year.
The Plan is a longstanding client of Legal & General Investment Management (“LGIM”). The Trustees carried out work in preparation for this transaction, including aligning the Plan’s assets more closely with expected insurance pricing by transitioning into LGIM buy-out aware funds.
The Trustees and sponsoring company appointed PwC as specialist adviser for the transaction and legal advice was provided to the Trustees by Hogan Lovells.
Rebecca Otter, Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI): “Legal & General provides bespoke solutions to pension plans of all sizes and we’re delighted to have completed this buy-in. The key for smaller schemes entering the market is to ensure they are well prepared. The preparation the Trustees had carried out, combined with our streamlined approach, meant we were able to price the Plan quickly, making the process seamless and straightforward. It was great to work alongside an existing client of Legal & General to secure a transaction that protects the benefits of all members of the Plan.”
Giles Orton, Trustee Chair, commented: “I am delighted to have completed this buy-in, which will provide greater security for members’ benefits in the Plan. I want to thank all of our advisers for helping us through this journey, including PwC who helped us navigate a busy market for a relatively small scheme. I am also grateful for the support the Company has provided throughout the Plan’s journey to this point; we have worked collaboratively throughout to achieve a great outcome.”
Sam Whalley, Lead Risk Transfer Advisor at PwC added: “As lead advisor to both Company and Trustee, and in a market that is busier than ever before, we worked closely with Legal & General to find capacity to obtain the buy-in quotation at the right time. We were also able to help structure the sponsor financing which allowed the Trustee to secure the buy-in, as well as allowing the Company to continue to invest in the business. Through the use of the LGIM buy-out aware funds, we were able to support the Trustee to achieve a level of price certainty during the execution phase that is rare for the scheme of this size.”
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