Quest UK Pension Scheme completes £134m buy-in with Aviva

Written by Paige Perrin

27/08/2025

The Quest UK Pension Scheme has completed a £134m bulk purchase annuity (BPA) buy-in transaction with Aviva, securing the benefits of more than 440 members of the scheme.

Finalised in July 2025, this marks the second transaction between the sponsor, Givaudan UK Limited, and Aviva following a transaction with the Givaudan UK Pension Plan in 2021.

Aon led the transaction process and advised the trustees, while HSF Kramer provided legal advice.

Chair of trustees, Ian Messenger, said the result is a “very good outcome” for all parties.

“Protecting our members’ benefits has always been the key objective for both the trustees and company, and full insurance has been our long-term target for a number of years,” Messenger stated.

“This has now been made possible by the detailed preparation and strong collaboration across all workstreams led by Aon, with legal advice from HSF Kramer.”

Adding to this, Givaudan International SA head of global benefits, Christian Frener, said: “We were pleased to work closely with the trustees through a joint working group to support the long-term security of members' benefits.

“Over recent years, we have systematically reduced risk through asset de-risking and member options exercises.

“Following the £64m buy-in of a sister scheme in 2021, we are now in a position to have secured the vast majority of Givaudan’s UK defined benefit pension liabilities.”

Aviva senior deal manager, Sean Rooney, said this second transaction with the sponsor reflects the “strength” of its ongoing relationship, and “looks forward” to welcoming the members to Aviva soon.

Aon associate partner, Jamil Merali, added that its investment team was able to “move quickly to capture the attractive terms”, while the “collaborative” joint working group enabled highly effective decision-making, which led to a positive outcome for all parties.

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