Salvus Master Trust has acquired Complete, a smaller workplace pension provider, adding 1,200 new members to the scheme.
The agreement, which comes into effect on 1 May, will see Complete’s members and £7m in assets transferred to Salvus, increasing the master trust assets to in excess of £100m, with membership to more than 46,000 people.
The Complete Master Trust was launched in September 2014 by Charles Stanley Financial Solutions, part of the wealth manager group at the time.
With new master trust regulations coming into force in October, many smaller players will be looking to leave the market, according to some pension experts.
Under new rules, master trusts will have to hold enough capital to cover costs in the worst-case scenario, such as the cost of transferring to another scheme or of winding up, without having to charge members.
Earlier on this month, The People’s Pension announced a merger with Your Workplace Pension (YWP), taking in an excess of 8,700 new members.
According to Steve Goddard, managing director of Goddard Perry, Salvus’ parent company, the industry is likely to see increased amounts of consolidation in the next 12 months.
He said: “We believe Salvus has the robust offering and infrastructure to support this.
“We have been working closely with the Complete Master Trust team and CS Trustees for the past seven months and, with a strong trustee board on both sides, efficient legal advisers, accommodating administrators (HS Admin) and a robust project plan, this has been a smooth process for all involved.”
Chris Halewood, Chair of trustees for the schemes, said: “We are confident that the Salvus Master Trust has the size and scale needed within this market to provide a sustainable long-term solution for all”.
