Thomas Peacock

Thomas is Senior Counsel in our Corporate Group and Insurance practice. He has a broad range of experience advising on a variety of transactions, with a focus on the insurance sector (both general and life), including M&A, corporate reorganisations, insurance and reinsurance arrangements, de-risking transactions, insurance regulation (including Solvency II) and general corporate advice.

His recent work includes advising:

• Intact and RSA Group on the £6.5 billion derisking of RSA’s two main defined benefit pension schemes with PIC
• Tata Steel on derisking transactions totalling £7.5 billion entered into by the British Steel Pension Scheme with Legal & General
• DLUHC on the self-remediation terms to be entered into by major residential property developers and DLUHC
• Legal & General on various matters, including:
• a number of derisking and reinsurance transactions, including a c.£310 million buy-in with Reuters Supplementary Pension Scheme
• the sale of its mature savings business to Swiss Re for £650 million
• Aviva on various matters, including:
• the legal and regulatory implications of COVID-19 for its business interruption policies, including the impact of the FCA Test Case
• the de-risking of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme, and subsequently the RAC scheme, by way of a longevity swap involving insurance and reinsurance arrangements
• Pollen Street Capital on acquisitions in the general insurance sector and related corporate reorganisations and regulatory engagement
• Markerstudy (a portfolio company of Pollen Street Capital) on various transactions, including its acquisitions of BGL Insurance and the Lloyd’s broker Clegg Gifford & Co
• Prudential on the demerger of its UK & Europe business (M&G Prudential), resulting in two separately-listed companies, and subsequent considerations in respect of its group structure
• Allianz on aspects of its acquisition of Legal & General Insurance Limited, the general insurance business of Legal & General Group
• esure on its £1.2 billion takeover by a subsidiary of funds advised by Bain Capital and its affiliates by way of scheme of arrangement
• Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on its £29.6 billion possible offer for London Stock Exchange Group plc
• insurers, trustees and corporates on various other de-risking matters, including:
• a major insurance group on several longevity and asset reinsurance transactions with the Pacific Life group, including arrangements structured on a limited recourse basis
• Whitbread plc on the £680 million derisking of the Whitbread Group Pension Fund with Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group

Thomas has spent time on secondment with Legal & General, where he supported the derisking business.