14th Nov 2024 11:51
(Alliance News) - Just Group PLC on Thursday said it has completed its largest-ever defined-benefit pension de-risking deal, a GBP1.8 billion full buy-in with the trustee of the G4S pension scheme.
G4S is a London-based security services company. It was a London-listed FTSE 250 constituent before being acquired by US peer Allied Universal in 2021. The G4S pension scheme covers about 22,500 pensioners and deferred members.
Surrey, England-based Just Group provides retirement income products and services.
Just Group said it will reinsure 60%, or GBP1.1 billion, of the investment and longevity risks of the G4S deal via a subsidiary of Brookfield Wealth Solutions. It will retain 40%, or GBP700 million.
"We continue to view funded reinsurance as complementary to our existing business," explained Chief Executive Officer David Richardson. "Our use has always been selective, with a combined about GBP2 billion of funded reinsurance across four transactions to date, representing less than 10% of our total annuity liabilities, each with a different counterparty."
Just Group said the G4S deal doesn't change the 2024 guidance that it provided with its interim results in August. This is for shareholder-funded new business volumes in the second half of the year to be similar to first half's GBP2.5 billion, though with "slightly lower margins due to business mix".
The company said it still expects in 2024 "to substantially exceed a doubling" of its operating profit of GBP211 million in 2021. Underlying operating profit was GBP377 million in 2023, up 47% from GBP257 million in 2022.
Just Group shares were up 2.3% at 138.76 pence in London on Thursday.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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