The Tioxide Pension Fund has agreed a £430m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society, securing the benefits of around 2,700 retirees and deferred members.

The trustee and sponsor, Venator Group, appointed Aon as specialist adviser for the transaction while legal advice was provided to the trustee by Addleshaw Goddard and to L&G by Clifford Chance.

The buy-in was agreed in November, although L&G was able to offer a price lock solution to provide the trustee with price certainty despite the period of high market volatility while the terms of the buy-in were being agreed.

Commenting on the deal, Tioxide Pension Fund chair of trustees, Sally Roberts, stated: “We are very happy to have secured our members’ benefits fully through this transaction and achieve our long-term objective for the fund.

“We appointed Aon as our specialist adviser for the transaction and we are grateful for the support of them and our advisers and the collaboration between the trustee and company to enable us to achieve this positive outcome for the fund and our members.”

Aon associate partner, Charlotte Quarmby, also highlighted the deal as exemplification of “what can be achieved by careful stewardship and a collaborative approach”.

“It was a pleasure to help the Tioxide Pension Fund in achieving this significant milestone,” she continued.

“After careful consideration of a number of different factors, the trustee and sponsor were able to lock into the position with L&G and - just as work was being done to finalise the transaction - to weather the storm of the most volatile market conditions of recent years.”

Adding to this, L&G Retirement Institutional director, Rachel Cutts, stated: “At L&G, our clients and their peace of mind are central to everything we do. We’re delighted to have worked alongside an existing client of L&G to secure a transaction that protects the benefits of all members of the fund.

“We would like to thank the trustee and its advisers for their collaborative approach throughout the process. We’re looking forward to warmly welcoming the fund’s members and supporting them in the future.”

Share Story: