Press releases

Legal & General agrees a c£650m buy-in with Mitchells & Butlers Executive Pension Plan

Legal & General Assurance Society Limited (“Legal & General”) today announces that it has agreed a c£650 million full scheme buy-in with the Mitchells & Butlers Executive Pension Plan (“the Plan”), securing the benefits for all Plan members.

21 Dec 2021


Full press release

The sponsor, Mitchells & Butlers Plc, has a history dating back to 1898 and operates a number of the UK’s restaurants, pubs and bars, including Harvester and All Bar One.

Today’s announcement marks the Plan’s first pension risk transfer transaction after two years of preparation and price monitoring.

The Plan is an existing client of the Legal & General Group, with its investment management business (“LGIM”) providing management of the Plan’s Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme assets.

The Trustees were advised on the transaction by XPS and legal advice to the Trustees was provided by Gowling WLG. Macfarlanes provided legal advice to Legal & General.

Celia Monteiro, Director, Legal & General Retirement Institutional: We are delighted to have been able to help the Mitchells & Butlers Executive Pension Plan secure their members’ benefits with us. We worked flexibly with the Trustees over a period of two years to monitor pricing and then helped them to move quickly once a transaction became affordable. This approach demonstrates the value that can be realised by engaging with insurers at an early stage and working with them to achieve a clearly defined pricing target.

For further information:

Margrit

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 over £1.2 trillion in total assets under management* of which a third is international. We also provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these 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. Through inclusive capitalism, we aim to build a better society by investing in long-term assets that benefit everyone.

*at 31 Dec 2022

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 UK Retirement annuity book stands at £72.4 billion as at 31 December 2022. 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.

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 longest-standing active UK provider of PRT, providing pension security for more than a million people around the world.

*at 31 Dec 2022