Wood Pension Plan

The plan is the corporate defined-benefit pension scheme for John Wood Group PLC, the FTSE 250 energy services and engineering firm. John Wood Group is the sponsoring employer, meaning it bears the ultimate obligation to fund any deficit. Wood Pensions Trustee Limited, a separate corporate trustee, governs the plan as an independent fiduciary on behalf of the member base.

When Sidara acquired John Wood Group for approximately £1.6 billion in 2024, the takeover triggered intensive negotiations between the Trustee and Sidara over the future covenant. The Trustee sought and obtained binding commitments around post-acquisition funding support and security for the plan's deficit. The deal marked a highly visible example of pension trustee engagement shaping a public-to-private transaction outcome.

The plan allocates across private equity and real estate, with a private-equity tilt toward buyout strategies. Confirmed property holdings include commitments to two LaSalle-managed UK funds: the Core Property Fund and the Inflation Linked Property Fund. These investments serve the scheme's need for long-duration, partially inflation-hedged cash flows.

The plan deploys through commingled fund structures rather than direct co-investments. The strategy tags indicate buyout fund commitments across multiple vintages, consistent with a fund-of-funds or manager-selection model rather than direct-deal underwriting.

Governance rests with Wood Pensions Trustee Limited, the corporate trustee. The trustee board handles all fiduciary decisions including investment policy, actuarial valuation oversight, and covenant negotiation. Day-to-day administration and investment management are likely delegated to external providers, but the specific service arrangements have not been publicly disclosed.