Buy in of the Fujitsu General (U.K.) Co. Limited Pension and Life Assurance Plan

The Trustee of the Fujitsu General (U.K) Co. Limited Pension and Life Assurance Plan (the Plan) has entered into a full buy-in transaction with Aviva. 

The buy-in secures defined benefit liabilities of £7.7m for all deferred Plan members and their dependants, and was carried out within the context of a new covenant and security package put in place for the Plan by its sponsoring group. The transaction is a significant step forward for the Plan to ensure the long-term security of members’ benefits. 

Peter Thompson of Capital Cranfield, the sole Trustee of the Plan, commented: “We were delighted to be able to achieve this result for the beneficiaries of the Plan. It is vital that it remains possible to carry out small transactions such as this as well as the large ones which gain most publicity. We are grateful that our advisers and Aviva have been able to support this transaction so effectively.”

Advice to the Trustee was provided by CMS as legal advisers and Isio as actuarial and investment advisers. 

James Staveley-Wadham, who led the Isio team together with Nathan Butterworth and Priya Jassal, added: “We were pleased to support the Trustee in the completion of this transaction and secure the best outcome for members. Our innovative approach to securing benefits with insurers is proving successful for both the smaller pension schemes and the larger deals we undertake for our clients.”

The CMS team was led by Caroline Kurup and  Simon Evans, supported by Megan Davies and Harriet Dammone (Pensions), together with assistance from Timea Scholey and Ben Bodmer (Restructuring and Insolvency), Paula Hrycokowiak (Banking and Finance), and Axel Dippmann and Dieu Hong Mai (Finance, CMS Germany). 

This transaction is the latest in what has been a very busy period for the CMS Pensions de-risking team. CMS has advised on £18 billion worth of buy-in and buy-out transactions in 2020 – representing more than half of the total value of all transactions completed in that calendar year.