Henderson is backing Uniq pension deal

By Jeff Prestridge for The Mail on Sunday
Updated: 07:27 EDT, 13 February 2011

Fund manager Henderson is backing Uniq's ground-breaking proposal to tackle its crippling £436m pension fund deficit by handing over more than 90% of shares in the chilled food firm to the scheme's trustees.

Henderson, one of several City institutions to hold stakes in Uniq, said the restructuring represented the 'only show in town'. 'Either it gets approved or Uniq goes bust,' a spokesman said.

The investment group holds Uniq shares through Henderson UK Equity Income fund and the Lowland and Law Debenture trusts.

In a deal with the Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund, after 18 months of haggling, Uniq is ceding 90.2%t of its shares to the pension fund.

With a £14m cash injection into the fund, this would close the gap between the scheme's £600m of assets and £1 billion in liabilities, Uniq said.

It will also preserve 90% of the benefits built up by members - those already in payment would be paid in full. The scheme has 20,000 members.

But crucially, the complex arrangement must be approved by Uniq's 11,000 shareholders in a vote that takes place in 12 days.

Charles Hall, head of research at stockbroker Peel Hunt, said the proposal represented the 'only' solution. Hall said the company should see its share price re-rated so the value of investors' holdings would be maintained. Shares worth 5.6p now could be worth 50p if the deal is approved.