Merrydown Pension Plan

Merrydown Pension Plan

The Merrydown Pension Plan is the legacy corporate pension vehicle for Merrydown plc, the historic cider maker founded in 1946 and based in Sussex before its acquisition by SHS Group in 2005. The scheme became orphaned from its operating business following the sale, leaving it as a closed defined-benefit plan responsible for a finite pool of retired and deferred members, with a primary statutory objective to meet accrued benefit obligations. The plan's investment strategy reflects a mature, cashflow-negative liability profile typical of closed UK defined-benefit schemes. Publicly available scheme accounts indicate an asset allocation weighted heavily toward liability-driven investment instruments, UK government bonds, and investment-grade credit, supplemented by smaller allocations to diversified growth funds and absolute-return strategies. The fund does not engage in direct private equity or venture capital, instead accessing alternative risk premia through pooled institutional mandates. The scheme is subject to oversight by The Pensions Regulator and prepares its accounts under the UK's statutory FRS 102 framework. The plan is governed by a board of trustees with delegated day-to-day investment management outsourced to regulated UK institutional asset managers. Fiduciary responsibility sits with the trustee board, which is advised by a specialist pension consultancy on strategic asset allocation, funding level monitoring, and covenant assessment. Since the sponsoring employer was acquired, the scheme's funding relies on the strength of a residual parent company guarantee and the performance of its existing assets, with no new accruals or contributions from an active workforce. Structurally, the fund sits within a rapidly consolidating segment of the UK pensions market, where closed schemes of this size face an active choice between running off under trustee governance, transferring to a commercial consolidator, or executing a buy-in with a regulated insurer. The scheme has not publicly announced any such transaction, suggesting it continues to manage its liabilities on a self-sufficient basis for the time being.