Press releases
Legal & General agrees a £250m buy-in transaction with the Selecta UK Pension Plan
Legal and General Assurance Society Limited (“Legal & General”) today announces that it has agreed a £250m buy-in transaction with the Selecta UK Pension Plan (“the Plan”) securing the benefit payments of approximately 1,000 pensioners and 1,000 deferred members.
22 Sep 2021
Selecta UK is Europe’s leading coffee and vending machine operator. The Plan has an existing relationship with Legal & General, having worked with Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) as its asset manager since 1992. This enabled an extremely smooth asset transfer, with Legal & General also being able to lock to the Plan’s existing assets which provided price certainty to the Plan at an early stage of the buy-in process.
The buy-in also significantly reduces future pension funding risk from Selecta's point of view, providing more business certainty for stakeholders and aligns with actions taken in supporting and securing members' benefits.
Hymans Robertson was the lead transaction adviser. Legal advice was provided to the Trustee by Pinsent Masons and to Legal & General by Macfarlanes. The sponsor was advised by PWC.
Celia Monteiro, Director, Pension Risk Transfer, Legal & General Retirement Institutional “Working with pension schemes at all stages of their de-risking journey is fundamental to what we do at Legal & General and we are delighted that we have been chosen as the Selecta UK Pension Plan’s buy-in partner, given their long-standing relationship with LGIM. This transaction and the smooth transfer of assets once again demonstrates our ability to offer innovative, bespoke, buy-in solutions for our clients.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Plan as it continues its de-risking journey, providing further security to its members.”
For further information
Margrit Williams
Director of External Engagement
Legal & General Capital
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.
1Data as at 31 December 2023.
Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI) works with trustees and sponsoring companies of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes of all sizes to settle their pension obligations and secure scheme members’ benefits, through a full range of buy-ins, buyouts and other de-risking solutions. Our Client Services’ 12-month rolling Net Promoter Score (NPS) is above +70, which is widely regarded as being at a “world class” level. Legal & General is the UK’s longest-standing active bulk annuity provider.
Our UK Retirement annuity book stands at an estimated £86.1 billion at 31 December 2023. Across the group over £30 billion is invested in direct investments that deliver positive social and environmental impacts, such as clean energy and affordable housing. Legal & General provides income and pension security to more than a million retirement customers around the world.