LCP advises on £250m of buy-ins between the Halma Group Pension Plan and the Apollo Pension and Life Assurance Plan and Standard Life

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has successfully concluded £250m of Bulk Purchase Annuity transactions across two plans; the Halma Group Pension Plan and the Apollo Pension and Life Assurance Plan, which secures benefits for 2,200 members. 

LCP acted as the lead transaction adviser to the Trustee, with investment advice from Mercer and legal advice from Squires Patton Boggs. 

The Halma Group Pension Plan is sponsored by Halma plc, and the Apollo Pension and Life Assurance Plan is sponsored by Apollo Fire Detectors Limited, whose parent company is Halma plc. The transactions were completed in September 2024.

The Trustees, sponsors and their advisers collaborated closely with Standard Life to meet both plans’ de-risking objectives and secure the buy-ins, significantly reducing risk exposure for the plans and their members. 

David Fink, Partner at LCP, commented: “I am delighted to have helped the Trustees of the Plans take a significant step on their de-risking journeys by fully insuring the benefits in both Plans.  By running the two buy-in processes together this helped the Trustees secure attractive pricing for both Plans quickly and efficiently in the busy market.  The increased scale of the combined transaction also meant the Plans were able to optimise the secondary market sale for the Plans’ illiquid assets.”

Joe Haswell, BPA Transaction Manager at Standard Life, added: “By collaborating closely with the Trustees, sponsors and their respective advisers, we are pleased to provide a secure home for the benefits for over 2,000 members. The plans came to market with clear objectives and well-prepared data and benefits, which laid the groundwork for an effective outcome. The BPA market continues to be busy, and as the end of the year fast approaches, solid preparation like this remains key to the efficient production of quotes in a competitive market.”