Aviva to back Arcadia pension fund deal - report

Thousands of pensioners left facing an uncertain retirement by the collapse of Sir Philip Green's high street empire are reportedly on the verge of a funding deal backed by Aviva.

According to Sky News, the trustees of the Arcadia Group pension scheme are close to striking a binding deal with Aviva to guarantee its members' incomes.

City sources told Sky a formal agreement was likely within weeks, with Aviva understood to have seen off competition from rival insurance companies, including Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).

If concluded, it would bring to an end negotiations about one of the UK's most contentious corporate pension schemes.

The fate of Arcadia's pensioners has been in the balance since Green was forced to put the group into administration in 2020.

Green was in talks with The Pensions Regulator for months before Arcadia's collapse, and agreed to inject a substantial sum into the scheme.

Sky said the exact structure of the deal between the Arcadia trustees and Aviva was unclear, but one insider said it was expected to involve members receiving full benefits - albeit potentially with more limited future increases than current inflation levels would justify.

Arcadia members are certain to receive superior payouts to those they would have got through the Pension Protection Fund lifeboat, which effectively guarantees benefits worth 90% of pension pots to unretired members, Sky said.

The last public figure for Arcadia's pension liabilities was in the order of £1bn, although the current figure was unclear.

The Arcadia Group included retailers Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.