Linklaters has advised the Trustee of the Co-operative Pension Scheme (Pace) on its £4bn buy-in of the Group Section with Rothesay Life. The transaction has secured benefits for almost 50,000 members – 17,655 pensioners and dependants as well as 31,896 deferred members.

This transaction insures a significant majority of the Section’s liabilities, strengthening the benefits for members, and is a significant step in the Co-op’s continuing strategy of de-risking its pensions exposure. It follows the £1.2bn buy-in of the Bank Section liabilities with Rothesay which transacted in December 2022, and c.£2.75bn of Scheme buy-ins executed in 2020, on which Linklaters also advised the Trustee.

Commenting on this latest deal, Phil Goss, Partner at Linklaters, said: “We are thrilled that our market-leading practice continues to advise on some of the market’s most significant de-risking projects. It has been a privilege to work with the Scheme for a number of years. It has been very rewarding to support the Trustee throughout their de-risking journey to achieve this significant milestone for the Scheme and its members.”

The cross-practice Linklaters team advising the Trustee was led by pensions partner Phil Goss, who was supported by Pensions Group colleagues including partners, John Sheppard and Mark Blyth; managing associates, Gareth Craft, Sarah Opie, Alison Goudarzi, and Jack Gillions, counsel, Dominique Hurst and associate, Kate Simmons. Advising on Real Estate aspects was partner, Siobhan Burton and managing associate, Elyse Yap. Gavin Lowe, managing associate, advised from Investment Funds and partner, Tom Quoroll and associate, Pascal Despard from Structured Finance.