The UK government has signalled the importance of introducing a permanent superfund regulatory regime. By Victoria Sander After the excitement around Clara-Pensions’ approval as a “superfund”, or pension consolidator, in late 2021, the market generally expected that other pension superfund structures would soon follow suit. Last year’s mini-budget and the ensuing liability-driven investment (LDI) crisis, … Continue Reading
By Catherine Drinnan and Shaun Thompson This year has seen a significant number of business failures, particularly on the high street, as businesses have struggled in the face of market fragility and Brexit uncertainty. When a UK portfolio company is underperforming, the presence of a defined benefit pension (DB) plan with a large deficit can … Continue Reading
By Catherine Drinnan, Shaun Thompson, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell This year has seen a significant number of business failures, particularly on the high street, as businesses have struggled in the face of market fragility and Brexit uncertainty. When a UK company is underperforming, the presence of a defined benefit pension (DB) plan … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green Commercial risks to businesses can no longer be neatly divided into financial and non-financial considerations. For example, there is growing recognition, particularly in the pensions sector, that a failure to take account for environmental and social governance (ESG) risks (in particular, climate change risks) can result in adverse financial … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green A new pensions directive was passed by the European Parliament on 24 November securing 512 votes (only 77 votes against and 40 abstentions), requiring EU workplace pension funds to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This is considered a ‘landmark’ moment for responsible investment. The new pensions directive … Continue Reading
By Catherine Drinnan and Shaun Thompson The recent furore over the collapse of high street retailer BHS has caused fierce debate over whether companies, or their ultimate owners, are responsible for the upkeep of a pension plan. For private equity, the debate has important implications. In the US, pensions have also been hitting the headlines. … Continue Reading
