The Energizer UK Pension Plan has completed a £44m full buy-in deal with Just Group, securing the benefits of all scheme members, including 409 pensioners and 358 deferred members.

Buck, a Gallagher company, acted as the employee benefit consultant on the deal, while Hogan Lovells provided legal advice to the trustee, Zedra Governance Limited, and Just used its in-house legal support.

The deal made use of Just's bulk quotation service, which monitors pricing against data received from the trustee or employee benefit consultant allowing quick execution when scheme funding levels aligns with a target price.

Commenting on the deal, Zedra Governance client director and head of PCST, Clare James, said: “The trustee is delighted to have been able to complete a buy-in transaction with Just, enhancing the security of benefits for members of the plan.

“The trustee was particularly pleased with how quickly it was possible to move from guaranteed quote to execution, thanks to the responsiveness of Just, our advisers, Buck and Hogan Lovells, and our Zedra Governance Ltd professional corporate sole trustee model.”

Just Group business development manager, Geraint Jones, added: “It was a pleasure to work with Buck and Zedra to secure the Energizer UK Pension Plan members’ benefits.

“The transaction demonstrates that there is a vibrant DB de-risking market for schemes of all sizes."

Hogan Lovells legal adviser, Amol Chalisgaonkar, also highlighted the deal as a “big positive step for the security of members’ benefits”, emphasising the importance of ‘laying down the groundwork” to ensure the scheme was in a good position to take advantage of favourable pricing and move to transact quickly.

Adding to this, Buck senior consulting actuary and lead broker, Steve Williams, said: “We are delighted to have helped the trustee secure an insurance policy with Just, which represents a brilliant outcome for the plan and its members.

"Our team worked closely with the trustee and co-advisers to get this deal completed in a short amount of time, allowing the trustee to take advantage of favourable insurance pricing.”

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