Aviva completed £104m buy-in deal with the Essentra Pension Plan

Aviva has completed a £104 million bulk purchase annuity transaction with the Trustee of the Essentra Pension Plan (Essentra section), securing the benefits of both deferred and pensioner members. The deal completed in January 2026.

XPS Group acted as lead adviser to the Trustee, with Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP providing legal advice. Aviva’s legal advice was provided in‑house.

“Following a positive experience with Aviva on the Plan’s Senior Section, it is particularly pleasing that we have now also been entrusted with delivering long-term security for the Main Plan."
John Fothergill, Senior Deal Manager, Aviva

This is the second transaction between Aviva and the Plan’s Trustees, following the 2022 buy‑in of the Senior Staff section and forms part of the Plan’s long‑term de‑risking journey.

John Fothergill, Senior Deal Manager, Aviva, said: “Following a positive experience with Aviva on the Plan’s Senior Section, it is particularly pleasing that we have now also been entrusted with delivering long-term security for the Main Plan. The Trustees’ clear objectives, thorough preparation and collaborative approach helped ensure another smooth and efficient process. Once again, it’s been a pleasure to work with the Trustees and their advisers.”

Liz Fallon, Chair of Trustees at the Essentra Pension Plan, said: “We are delighted to have completed a further buy-in with Aviva, which secures the benefits for all our remaining defined benefit members. The early preparation work carried out across our advisory team allowed us to accelerate our original project timescales and we were able to transact quickly and confidently, running a very competitive bidding process, culminating in a transaction with Aviva.”

David Lambert, Senior Risk Settlement Consultant at XPS Group, added: “This is a great result for all parties and builds on the success of the buy-in for the Plan’s Senior Section. The key to this transaction was the collaborative working across all the Plan’s advisers, which allowed us to move quickly to capture the favourable conditions we are seeing in the market right now. We are delighted to have led on the advice to the Trustee and to have secured such a great outcome for the Plan’s members.”