Clara Pensions today welcomes the appointment of Matt Wilmington as Chief Transactions Officer. Matt joins from Scottish Widows where he spent six years as Head of Origination and Structuring. At Clara, he will lead all origination activities and ensure the seamless integration of new members when they join.
With a strong pipeline of deals, this appointment reflects Clara’s continued evolution as the business adds to its existing 20,000 members and £1.2bn of assets under management.
Reflecting this evolution, Luke Stratford-Higton will take on the newly created role of Chief Actuarial Officer, where he will continue to grow Clara’s pricing capability and transaction support through expansion of the actuarial team. Elsewhere, Chief Commercial Officer Dan Adams will be leaving Clara. Dan has been instrumental in the success of Clara’s first transactions and its strong growth trajectory to date.
“We are excited to welcome Matt to Clara. His expertise will be invaluable as we progress to the scale-up stage of our successful development and look towards our strong pipeline of transactions. And I am also delighted that Luke has taken on the role of Chief Actuarial Officer reflecting the huge contribution the actuarial team make to the success of Clara.
“I would also like to pay tribute to Dan Adams who has made an invaluable contribution to the establishment and growth of Clara, and wish him the very best in his new role.”
Simon True
Chief Executive Officer at Clara Pensions
“I am excited to be joining Clara at such an exciting time in their development. I’m very much looking forward to building on the fantastic work done by the team, working with them to accelerate the scale up of the business.”
Matt Wilmington
Clara’s new Chief Transactions Officer
Clara’s most recent transaction was with the Wates Group and saw 1,500 members and their £210m of assets transfer into the superfund. This marked the first superfund transaction with an active sponsoring company, and the third transaction Clara has done to date, following its transactions to support the members of the Sears and Debenhams pension schemes – with each of those a first of their kind too.
Following this transaction, Clara now looks after 21,000 members and over £1.5bn in assets. Interest in transacting continues to be high, and Clara is currently in active discussions with a large number of schemes with total assets in excess of £10bn.
Media contacts
Dave Chambers/Nathalie Tamam: [email protected]
About Clara Pensions
Clara Pensions is the member-first consolidator for defined benefit pension schemes. It acts as a bridge for pension scheme members, from the company that currently supports their pension to a long-term insured future.
Clara provides a safer pension promise today by combining its own capital and robust governance with additional contributions from sponsors, who can now transfer the burden of their pension liabilities to Clara. This frees up companies to focus on their future growth.
Clara will provide a managed journey to an insured buyout, giving members the security of a fully insured pension earlier. Only once all members have their full benefits secured will Clara provide a long-term return on capital for investors.
For more information, please visit our website at www.clara-pensions.com
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