Western Pension Solutions (WPS), the specialist pensions consultancy that provides strategic and practical advice to family businesses, today announced it has successfully advised Jarrold & Sons Ltd on a £19m buy-in, thereby reducing Jarrold’s pension risks and securing the pension payments for more than 500 members.
Jarrold is one of the longest established businesses in Norwich. Its most familiar business is the popular landmark department store in the centre of Norwich and other retail outlets in the region, as well as an office and residential development in the city and the Jarrold Training initiative. Jarrold has been part of the business community in Norwich since 1823 having been founded in Woodbridge in 1770.
The work completed by WPS, which is owned by the Vestey Group and provides advice to family businesses around de-risking their legacy final salary pension schemes, saw an agreement secured with leading insurer Aviva to remove the risk of funding the Jarrold pension scheme from the company balance sheet. Under the buy-in arrangement Aviva will assume responsibility for the funding of member benefits, which is then provided to Jarrold for administering those in payment to pensioners.
Christopher Doggett, Finance Director for Jarrold & Sons Ltd, said: “We are very pleased with this outcome. This was our first insurance transaction and marks another important step towards our ultimate goal of fully securing the futures of our scheme members and providing longer-term stability for shareholders.”
Ben Fowler, Managing Director of WPS, said: “We were set a challenging target by the company, so I’m really happy to have showcased how great results can be delivered with careful preparation, specialist expertise and targeted engagement with the insurance market.
“Smaller schemes can often find it difficult to find solutions for their need to manage risk, due to lacking the scale of finance and resource that larger schemes can utilise. With our unique insight into the family business field we have shown how positive outcomes can be achieved, both in terms of attractive pricing and a smooth transaction process.”
Toby Holmes, BPA Deal Manager for Aviva, added: “We’re especially pleased to have been selected as the provider for this scheme, given the proud association both our companies have with Norwich. Working to clearly defined and comprehensive requirements, set by WPS, made it easy for us to work towards the ideal solution for the scheme and members alike. Having worked very closely with both Trustees and advisers throughout the process, we hope to build on this strong working relationship in the future.”
