Aviva taking on Wyevale pension pot

PENSION giant Aviva is poised to take control of Wyevale Garden Centres’ £50 million pension fund following a break-up of the chain by its owner.

The deal, which could be announced as soon as tomorrow, has been signed off by private equity giant Terra Firma after 145 Wyevale outlets were parcelled off to buyers in 57 separate transactions.

Many recent retail company deals have seen pension funds rolled into the Pension Protection Fund, leaving staff facing significant shortfalls on future payouts.

But it is understood that the Wyevale board, chaired by former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King, agreed a process with Terra Firma last year to meet the necessary hurdles to make sure an insurer could be found to run the fund. This included injecting £20 million into the scheme.

The arrangement has meant ‘continuity’ for the business, with workers’ entitlements for future pension payouts still intact, one source observed.

‘When a business is broken up, the future of the pension fund is normally cast into doubt. But this is a unique arrangement, with the business break-up being entirely solvent, over 95 per cent of staff transferring to the new business, and with the pension fund fully-funded and well looked after in the long-term,’ said the source.

Wyevale sites have been acquired by other garden centre chains, such as Dobbies, Blue Diamond and British Garden Centres. Others have been sold to independent owners, with around a dozen set aside for redevelopment.