The Fremantle Group Pension Plan has insured £47m of pensioner and deferred liabilities after entering into a buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).
The move comes as part of Fremantle Media’s ongoing pensions de-risking strategy, which group finance director Mark Riddlestone described as a “collaborative and positive process that has allowed all parties to reach their desired goals”.
He added: “From the company’s perspective, locking down risk and removing volatility was key, whilst also making sure that members benefited from the enhanced security for their pensions afforded by the insurance regime.”
Trustee chairman Sarah Tingay added: “A transaction of this nature is never easy to put together, but with advice from KPMG and a flexible and proactive attitude from PIC, we were able to secure our members’ benefits for the long term. We selected PIC on the basis of price, security and the ability to structure a transaction that also met the needs of the sponsor.”
KPMG partner Ben McDonald said: “This is a significant milestone in Fremantle Media’s pensions de-risking strategy and we are pleased to advise jointly the trustee and sponsor throughout this complex transaction. Our specialist insurance team worked with PIC to design and implement a deal that achieves the specific objectives of both the trustee and sponsor.”
Pension Insurance Corporation actuary Uzma Nazir said: “We are delighted to have been able to design a transaction to meet both the trustee’s and sponsor’s needs, with pricing terms that were within their targets. We expect to see further transactions involving deferreds as well as pensioners in 2014 if market conditions remain as they are or improve.”
FremantleMedia is one of the largest creators, producers and distributors of television brands in the world responsible for programmes including The X Factor, The Apprentice and Britain’s Got Talent.
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