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Pennon Group Pension Scheme
The Pennon Group Pension Scheme serves as the defined contribution vehicle for employees of the FTSE 250-listed water and waste utility. Its assets are...
Pennon Group Pension Scheme
The Pennon Group Pension Scheme serves as the defined contribution vehicle for employees of the FTSE 250-listed water and waste utility. Its assets are governed by Pennon Pension Trustees Limited, with Pennon Group CFO Laura Flowerdew holding oversight of funding strategy and Group Chief People Officer Adele Barker acting as the primary scheme contact. A £36 million special contribution from the sponsor in 2020 moved the fund materially closer to full funding. Investment exposure spans farmland and timberland holdings across the United Kingdom, insurance-linked securities, and liability-driven investments — a mix calibrated to match long-dated pension promises with real-yielding and diversifying asset classes. The scheme’s real-asset orientation aligns with the physical infrastructure demands of Pennon’s core businesses, South West Water and Bristol Water. No direct private equity or venture fund commitments are disclosed. The trustees are signatories to the UK Stewardship Code 2020, and the scheme participates in the Accounting for Sustainability Asset Owners Network. Investment management is delegated to external managers, including SEI and Impax, both of whom are UN Principles for Responsible Investment signatories. May 2024: No recent standalone operational event was identified for the scheme itself beyond ongoing sponsor contributions and trustee oversight. What distinguishes the Pennon scheme is its embedded relationship with a regulated utility sponsor. The pension’s asset mix — directly held UK land and LDI — mirrors the real-asset intensity of its parent, creating a circular investment logic where the pension’s timeline and the sponsor’s balance-sheet duration reinforce one another. This architecture makes the scheme structurally different from pooled local-authority funds and independent corporate DC master trusts.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Exeter
Corporate office
Exeter, United Kingdom
Principals
Pennon Pension Trustees Limited
Corporate Trustee
Adele Barker
Group Chief People Officer, Pennon Group
Laura Flowerdew
Chief Financial Officer, Pennon Group
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Pennon Group Pension Scheme?
Pennon Pension Trustees Limited acts as the corporate trustee responsible for scheme governance and investment. Pennon Group CFO Laura Flowerdew has oversight of pension funding strategy, while Adele Barker, Group Chief People Officer, is the primary contact for scheme matters. Day-to-day investment management is delegated to external managers including SEI and Impax.
How is the Pennon Group Pension Scheme funded?
The scheme receives contributions from both employees and Pennon Group, the sponsoring employer. In 2020, Pennon made a special £36 million contribution into the scheme to bring it closer to full funding. The scheme is a defined contribution structure, so members' ultimate benefits depend on investment performance.
What does the scheme invest in?
The scheme holds a UK farmland and timberland portfolio, insurance-linked securities, and liability-driven investments. These real-asset and diversifying exposures are designed to align with the scheme's long-term liability profile. No venture capital or direct private equity investments are disclosed.
Does Pennon Group Pension Scheme invest directly or through external managers?
Investments are managed externally. Known managers include SEI and Impax, both of whom are signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. The scheme does not disclose in-house direct investing by the trustee board.
Is the scheme a signatory to any stewardship codes?
Pennon Pension Trustees Ltd is a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code 2020. The scheme also participates in the Accounting for Sustainability Asset Owners Network, and its external managers maintain their own UN PRI commitments.
How is the Pennon scheme different from local-authority pension funds?
Unlike pooled local-government pension schemes, the Pennon Group Pension Scheme is a single-employer DC trust sponsored by a regulated FTSE 250 utility. Its investment strategy is directly influenced by the sponsor's real-asset-intensive balance sheet, creating a tighter alignment between pension assets and corporate liabilities.
What is the relationship between Pennon Group and the pension scheme?
Pennon Group Plc is the sponsoring employer and makes contributions into the scheme for its workforce, primarily from its subsidiary, South West Water. The corporate trustee, Pennon Pension Trustees Limited, operates the scheme independently for governance purposes but coordinates with the CFO on funding strategy.
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