Royal London, a UK provider of mutual life, pensions and investment, has completed a £61 million bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transaction with the Stora Enso UK Group Pension Scheme, securing the benefits of 758 members.
Quantum Advisory, already serving as the Trustee’s provider for actuarial, administration, and investment advisory services, was also selected to offer risk transfer support.
Chris Mason from Quantum Advisory led the risk broking services, while Burges Salmon acted as the Scheme’s legal advisors. Mayer Brown provided advice to Royal London.
Moin Patala, BPA Origination Lead at Royal London, commented: “We’re proud to have partnered with the Trustee of the Stora Enso UK Group Pension Scheme to secure the benefits of more than 750 members. We’re looking forward to welcoming both the Trustee and their members to Royal London.
“This was also our first transaction with Quantum Advisory, and we’re pleased to have built such a strong foundation for future work together.”
More than £1bn has now been insured since Royal London formally launched its BPA business almost a year ago.
External BPA transactions have varied significantly in size, from the £22 million transaction with the London Waste Pension Scheme to the £275 million transaction with the Grant Thornton Pension Fund.
Commenting on the latest transaction, Chris Mason, Principal Consultant at Quantum Advisory said: “This is a really positive outcome for members, the Trustee and Stora Enso. Following a lot of hard work by all advisers, the Scheme was well prepared to approach the market. We were very pleased to achieve such a high level of insurer engagement and competitive pricing giving the Trustee a wide range of choice.
“The Scheme was well prepared to approach the market. We were very pleased to achieve such a high level of insurer engagement and competitive pricing giving the Trustee a wide range of choice. We were impressed by Royal London’s administration offering as well as their post transaction processes and are very pleased to have completed our first transaction with them.”
James Barr, Director of Stora Enso UK Limited, added: “I am delighted that this step has been taken to secure the pension benefits of over 750 current and former employees. Stora Enso has proactively supported the Scheme over the last 20 years to ensure this was possible, and we are grateful to the sterling work carried out by the Trustee, and advisers, during the same period to get this over the line.”
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