When UK pension funds started to buckle under the turbulence caused by the Truss government’s “mini” Budget in September, senior executives at J Sainsbury were taking no chances.
The supermarket group’s pension fund, which has more than 70,000 members, had weathered the initial market volatility. But the company, fearful of more ructions once the Bank of England stabilisation measures were withdrawn, hurriedly set up a loan facility for £500mn.
“We decided to put a short-term loan in place should [the pension fund] require it,” said Sainsbury’s chief financial officer Kevin O’Byrne. “If there was a spike [in gilt yields]?.?.?.?we didn’t want them to have to do anything irrational like selling assets at the wrong time.”