DLA Piper advise Rothesay Life on its GBP290 million buy-in with IPC Media Pension Scheme

DLA Piper’s Pensions De-risking team has advised Rothesay Life on a GBP290 million buy-in with the IPC Media Pension Scheme. The transaction was completed in May, during a period of significant market uncertainty.

The transaction covers liabilities for 574 of the Scheme’s pensioner members, with the scheme having GBP700 million of total liabilities, accrued through pension benefits while employed with various publishing companies behind a range of popular magazines including Time.

Rothesay Life was established in 2007 and has become one of the leading providers of regulated insurance solutions in the U.K. market for pensions de-risking. This strong growth has been achieved through the steady accumulation of pension scheme clients, significant strategic acquisitions and the reinsurance of annuity portfolios. Rothesay Life has assets under management of over GBP50 billion and insures the pensions of over 800,000 individuals.

DLA Piper’s dedicated Pensions De-risking team was established in September 2019 by partner Amrit Mclean supported by legal director Robert Smith, senior associate Katharine Peacock and associate Oritsema Ejuoneatse. Since then it has completed on transactions totalling over GBP1.5 billion and advises on all elements of the pensions de-risking market with a particular focus on UK Insurers. This includes negotiating front end bulk annuity deals, all risks due diligence and reinsurance.

Amrit Mclean, partner Head of Pensions De-Risking commented: “It was a pleasure to support the Rothesay Life team on its buy-in with the IPC Media Pension Scheme. It is great to see the UK bulk annuity market remain buoyant despite lockdown and Rothesay’s continued success during this period of uncertainty. Congratulations to all of the parties and a big thank you to the DLA Piper De-risking team for all of their hard work.”