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 £1.2 trillion in total assets under management (as at FY23) of which c40% (circa £0.5 trillion) is international.

We have a highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. We are a leading international player in Institutional Retirement, in Retail Savings and Protection, and in both public and private markets through our Asset Management division. Across the Group, we are committed to responsible investing and dedicated to serving the long-term savings and investment needs of customers and society.

As at 7 June 2024, we estimate the Group’s Solvency II coverage ratio to be 224%.

As at 11 June 2024, Legal & General has a market capitalisation of £14.6 billion.

Institutional Retirement 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.