Royal London completes buy-in with the Pandrol Group Pension Scheme

Royal London, the UK's largest mutual life, pensions and investment provider, has secured a £45m bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transaction with the Pandrol Group Pension Scheme.

This latest buy-in covers around 200 members. Royal London worked in collaboration with the Trustee Board, Pandrol Limited and their respective advisers.

This process demonstrates the benefits of partnering with a provider on a sole-insurer basis to deliver a competitive premium and an excellent outcome for members.

A joint working group brought all the interested parties together to support transaction decision making. Barnett Waddingham provided actuarial, administration, investment advice and provided risk transfer support to the Trustee. Mark Roberts of Barnett Waddingham is the Scheme Actuary, while CMS are the Scheme’s legal advisors. Both Barnett Waddingham and CMS have been in place as advisers since the Scheme was established in 2000. PwC and Gunnercooke provided advice to Pandrol.

Royal London has now announced ten buy-in transactions in 2025, covering the benefits of over 5,500 pension scheme members. They have ranged in size from the £22 million transaction with the London Waste Pension Scheme through to the £275 million transaction with the Grant Thornton Pensions Fund.

Commenting on this latest transaction, Victoria Smith, BPA Origination Manager at Royal London said:

"Working closely with the Trustee, Pandrol and their respective advisers in a sole-insurer capacity enabled us to deliver a smooth and efficient transaction that reflects our mutual values and our commitment to brilliant customer outcomes.

"With a clear focus on collaboration and execution, we look forward to supporting the Scheme over the coming months and years to continue to deliver benefits to members."

Commenting on the transaction, Richard Gibson, Risk Transfer Partner at Barnett Waddingham said:

"It has been great to lead this transaction. Having been a long-standing client of Barnett Waddingham, we were able to ensure that the Scheme was well prepared and able to move quickly when an opportunity to secure members' benefits arose. The collaborative approach taken by the Trustee board, the Employer, all advisers and Royal London has been key to the success of the project."

Commenting on the transaction on behalf of the Trustee board, Susan Anyan of Capital Cranfield said:

"We are delighted to have been able to take the opportunity to complete this transaction, securing all of our members' pensions with a highly reputable insurer. This successful outcome reflects an ambitious collaboration between the Trustee and Pandrol, supported by proactive and practical advice from our advisers."