Aviva completes £1.5bn buy-in with Michelin Pension and Life Assurance Plan

Published: 09 Oct 2024

Aviva has today announced the completion of a £1.5 billion bulk purchase annuity full-scheme buy-in with the Michelin Pension and Life Assurance Plan.  The transaction, which includes an in-specie transfer of assets, completed in September 2024.  It secures the benefits for c15,000 members of the scheme.

The Trustee was advised by XPS Group and legal advice was provided by Pinsent Masons LLP.

This is a significant deal showing the strength of our bulk purchase annuity business in securing good outcomes for pension scheme members. We are well positioned to carry out large-scale transactions in addition to our capability in the small and medium scheme market.

Doug Brown, CEO of Insurance, Wealth and Retirement at Aviva

Doug Brown, CEO of Insurance, Wealth and Retirement at Aviva said: “This is a significant deal showing the strength of our bulk purchase annuity business in securing good outcomes for pension scheme members. We are well positioned to carry out large-scale transactions in addition to our capability in the small and medium scheme market.”

Sarah Cave, Senior Deal Manager at Aviva, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with the Trustee and their experienced advisers on such a well-prepared transaction. Their approach and clear strategy made this transaction attractive to us and enabled us to put our best foot forward when bidding. We are really pleased that the Trustee has chosen to partner with Aviva.  This deal further demonstrates Aviva’s capability for structuring transactions to meet specific client needs.”

Vincent Dormieux, Chair of Trustees for Michelin Pension and Life Assurance plan said: “The Trustee is delighted to have improved the long-term security of members’ benefits by completing this buy-in transaction with Aviva. I’d like to place on record our sincere thanks to our full advisory team and to the Michelin Group for its support through the process.”

Stephen Purves, Head of Risk Settlement at XPS Group said: “We’re really pleased to have led on this important transaction and to have helped the Trustee secure its members’ benefits with Aviva. We were always expecting to see lots of large transactions complete in H2 2024 and we developed a strategy to make this transaction stand out in a busy market. This included simplifying our transaction requirements before going to the insurers and an ‘in-house’ solution to deal with the Plan’s illiquid assets.”

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See more information on Bulk Purchase Annuities at Aviva

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Shelley Kernaghan

Retirement and Annuities

Notes to editors:

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