TotalEnergies completes £1.2 billion buy-in with PIC

The deal builds on the scheme’s first buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation for £1.6 billion in 2014, meaning that all £2.8 billion of the plan’s defined benefit liabilities are now insured with PIC

The trustee of the TotalEnergies UK Pension Plan has completed a £1.2 billion buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering the DB pension liabilities of more than 2,000 pensioners and dependants and 3,500 deferred policyholders.

The deal, which is the largest buy-in announced to date this year, builds on the scheme’s first buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation for £1.6 billion in 2014, meaning that all £2.8 billion of the plan’s defined benefit liabilities are now insured with PIC.

LCP acted as lead transaction adviser for the trustee and firm, while the trustees received legal advice from Sackers and the firm received legal advice from CMS. Pension Insurance Corporation, meanwhile, was advised by Addleshaw Goddard.

TotalEnergies UK Pension Plan chair, Rob White, said that securing members’ benefits has been the trustee’s aim for “many years”, emphasising the importance of taking a “collaborative and flexible approach” in achieving this.

We are pleased to have reached this milestone by extending our existing relationship with PIC, he said.

I would like to thank TotalEnergies, PIC, and our advisers for their collaborative and flexible approach in what was a complex and challenging transaction, he added.

LCP partner and lead adviser to both the trustee and company, Yadu Dashora, also stressed the importance of collaboration in the buy-in process, noting that while large transactions are more common now, they usually have their own intricacies.

This one had unique structuring requirements and a complex benefit structure reflecting the legacy of the company’s business, he said.

He added: But as ever, a combination of good preparation and close collaboration between all parties meant we were able to overcome these challenges and negotiate this sizeable transaction with Pension Insurance Corporation, achieving a really attractive outcome for the plan.