Aviva has completed a £140m ($170m) bulk purchase annuity (BPA) deal with the trustee of the Guilbert UK Retirement Benefits Plan which is sponsored by the UK arm of stationery firm Office Depot.
Aviva provided a full scheme buy-in for Office Depot UK Pension Sponsor Limited, which sees the insurer take on the investment and longevity risk for 1,500 members.
The tender process was led by PwC which also provided transaction advice to both the trustee and the sponsoring company.
Travers Smith gave legal advice and Mercer provided administration, scheme actuary, and investment advice to the trustee.
This is Aviva’s first deal to be publicly announced in 2024 following a number of transactions in 2023, including a $1.1bn buy-in with the Thomas Cook pension plan in May.
Aviva also struck buy-in deals with the Rotork and NTL 1999 pension funds.
Activity continued to be strong in the UK PRT market in 2023, with higher interest rates and concerns over market volatility driving transactions.
The news emerged a day after Resolution Life announced a $2.5bn in-payment annuity deal with an unnamed UK insurer.
