Addleshaw Goddard's pensions team has advised the Trustee of the Asda Group Pension Scheme on its £3.8bn buy-in with Rothesay Life, one of the largest such deals done in the UK. 

A full buy-out of the scheme is expected to take place in late 2020 or early 2021. 

The team was led by pensions partners Jade Murray, Rachel Uttley and Rachel Rawnsley, with cross-disciplinary support from tax, finance, corporate and commercial teams.

Jade Murray said: "As longstanding advisers to the Trustee we are delighted to have helped secure members' pensions and support the Trustee through what has been a complex journey. Everybody involved, including the trustee chair Richard Phillips, the professional trustees, the Asda in-house pensions team and the other trustee directors, have worked immensely hard to successfully deliver this transaction.

"We are very proud to have played our part amidst a truly expert and collaborative team of professional advisers, including Aon, Lincoln and Cardano." 

Rachel Uttley said: "This transaction cements the reputation of AG's national pension team for delivering market leading pensions de-risking transactions. It adds to our bulk annuity team's growing roster of over 15 buy-in/out transactions in recent years and is our largest to date. It was also one of the most structurally complex transactions that has been undertaken in the UK market."

Head of pensions, Rachel Rawnsley said: "I am incredibly proud of the hard work of all the members of the pension team involved in this very complex deal, as well as the support received from other specialisms within the firm to finalise the transaction. This further demonstrates our team has the expertise and experience to deliver market leading transactions on a large scale and work collaboratively with other advisers to achieve the best possible outcome for all stakeholders."

The Addleshaw Goddard Pension Team advises trustees, employers, intermediaries and institutions on all aspects of company and personal pensions. It has for many years been ranked sole top tier for pension legal advice in the Chambers independent legal directory for Yorkshire and the North East.