What Western Pension Solutions does

Western Pension Solutions Limited (WPS) is a UK-based specialist pension consultancy founded in January 2015 by Ben Fowler and the Vestey family, wholly owned by Vestey Holdings Limited. The firm provides strategic pension advice to family businesses that operate legacy defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, ranging from enterprises with turnover exceeding £1bn to those with sub-£1m turnover, and from schemes under £1m to over £500m in liabilities. Its core offering centres on de-risking strategy design — coordinating liability management, benefit optimisation, and data/documentation preparation to position schemes for execution in the bulk annuity (buy-in/buy-out) market. WPS itself does not execute bulk annuity transactions; all transactions are carried out by its regulated sister company, K3 Advisory Limited, and WPS earns advisory fees on the work that precedes and enables those transactions. Supporting service modules include Corporate Actuarial Services (PPF Levy, FRS102/IAS19R accounting, governance design) and Defined Contribution Consulting.

The firm's go-to-market is direct B2B consulting supported by a content-and-events strategy targeted at the UK family-business community. WPS maintains flagship partnerships with Family Business United, the Institute for Family Business, and The Family Business Network, and sponsors and speaks at events including the Great British Family Business Conference, regional family business awards, and the Family Business Road Trip series. It also publishes regional research reports (Scotland, West Midlands, North West, South West) quantifying the DB scheme exposure of family businesses in each region — most recently identifying 62 schemes with nearly £2.5bn in combined assets in Scotland and 52 schemes with nearly £2.4bn in the West Midlands. The revenue model is professional services fees on bespoke advisory engagements; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with a free helpline (0207 726 2718) for initial consultations. The firm is headquartered in the City of London at Vestey Holdings' offices (3rd Floor, 7 Howick Place, SW1P 1BB) and operates across England, Scotland, Yorkshire, the Midlands, the South West, the North West, and the West Midlands. The company's competitive position is built on the founding case study — the £500m+ Western United Group Pension Scheme buy-out completed between November 2012 and June 2014 with no sponsor contribution — and on senior practitioners recruited from Deloitte, EY, PwC, Willis Towers Watson, and Isio.

Name

Western Pension Solutions

Legal name

Western Pension Solutions Limited

Website

https://westernpensionsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Western Pension Solutions is a UK-based specialist pension consultancy serving family businesses with legacy defined benefit pension schemes. Founded in 2015 by Ben Fowler and the Vestey family, the firm provides strategic de-risking advice and prepares schemes for bulk annuity transactions executed by sister company K3 Advisory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pension Consultancy

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Pension Funds (525110)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Public Pension Funds (DB/DC Sponsors) (FSAAAGAA), Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Pension consultancy services
• Defined benefit schemes
• Pension de-risking strategy
• Bulk annuity advisory
• Family business pensions

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Pension Consulting: WPS provides specialist pension consultancy services to family businesses for managing their legacy defined benefit pension schemes. Revenue is generated through consulting fees for strategic advice, scheme analysis, de-risking strategy development, and implementation support.
2. Bulk Annuity Transaction Facilitation: While WPS advises on and facilitates bulk annuity transactions, all actual bulk annuity transactions are carried out by their regulated sister company, K3 Advisory Limited. WPS earns fees for advisory work leading up to these transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Western Pension Solutions is a specialist pension consultancy that provides strategic advice to family businesses for managing their legacy defined benefit pension schemes. The firm guides clients through a structured discovery phase and collaborative implementation, designing coordinated de-risking strategies and preparing schemes for buy-in or buy-out transactions in the bulk annuity market. Execution of regulated bulk annuity transactions is carried out by sister company K3 Advisory Limited, while WPS earns fees for the strategic advisory work leading up to those transactions.

Product overview

Western Pension Solutions (WPS) is a specialist pension consultancy, not a software product company. The firm operates as a single unified service offering strategic pension advisory to family businesses managing legacy defined benefit pension schemes. The core service is strategic pension advice focused on de-risking and buy-out strategies, delivered through a structured client engagement process. Supporting service modules include Corporate Actuarial Services and DC Consulting Services, which are components of the broader advisory offering rather than separate products. The Discovery Report serves as the primary deliverable documenting bespoke pension strategies. WPS also produces regional research reports on family business pension schemes as thought leadership. All services stem from the founding team's experience achieving a successful £500m+ pension scheme buy-out without sponsor contributions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Pension Advice Core advisory service providing strategic guidance to family businesses on managing and de-risking legacy defined benefit pension schemes, including advice on buy-ins, buy-outs, and long-term funding strategies.
• Corporate Actuarial Services
• DC Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Full buy-out of £500m+ pension liabilities achieved without any financial contribution from the sponsor company, with £10m of benefit improvements and £20m of surplus distributed to members
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• YMCA England & WalesminorOthers · 6 September 2023Vestey Holdings and YMCA England & Wales launched a transformative partnership to inspire future generations. WPS participated in the Seven Sisters Challenge along with K3 Advisory and In-Vest & Retire to raise funds for this partnership.
• The Prince's TrustminorOthers · 7 May 2019WPS and K3 team members undertook the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for The Prince's Trust, which supports disadvantaged young people aged 11-30. The team raised over £3,900 for the charity.
• Institute for Family Business (IFB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2019WPS collaborates with IFB on government pension consultations, providing input to IFB responses on behalf of the broader family business community regarding defined benefit funding codes, superfunds, and trustee governance.
• The Family Business NetworkcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019WPS partners with The Family Business Network to support regional family business conferences in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, providing sponsorship and expert speakers for events aimed at family business owners and leaders.
• Family Business United (FBU)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 August 2018WPS partnered with FBU to launch The Heritage Library, a collection of family business books housed in London. WPS also sponsors numerous FBU events including the Great British Family Business Conference, Family Business of the Year Awards, and Family Business Heritage Day.
• K3 Advisory LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerK3 Advisory is a regulated sister company of WPS that carries out all bulk annuity transactions. While WPS provides strategic advice and prepares clients for transactions, K3 handles the execution of Buy-in and Buy-out transactions in the bulk annuity market.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• K3 Advisory: Sister company that executes the bulk annuity transactions WPS advises on. Operates within the same UK DB de-risking ecosystem with the same target customer base (sponsors and trustees of legacy DB schemes).
• Isio: UK specialist pensions and actuarial consultancy formed from the PwC pensions practice. Provides strategic advisory, bulk annuity support, and de-risking services to corporate sponsors — directly competing with WPS's core offering.
• Barnett Waddingham: Large UK actuarial and pensions consultancy providing trustee, corporate, and de-risking advisory to DB schemes. Competes for the same UK corporate sponsor mandates as WPS.
• XPS Pensions Group: UK-listed pensions consultancy and administration business offering actuarial, advisory, and investment consulting services to DB schemes. A direct competitor in de-risking advisory.
• Quantum Advisory: UK specialist actuarial and pensions consultancy serving corporate and trustee clients on DB scheme funding, de-risking, and bulk annuity transactions. Closely comparable in scale and target customer.
• Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP): UK actuarial and pensions consultancy with strong DB advisory, de-risking, and bulk annuity expertise. A well-established direct competitor for corporate DB scheme mandates.
• Hymans Robertson: UK employee benefits and pensions consultancy providing actuarial, investment, and de-risking advice to DB schemes. Directly comparable in advisory services to corporate sponsors.

Broad incumbents

• Mercer: Global consulting leader offering pensions advisory, actuarial, and investment services to UK DB schemes. Operates broadly across the asset and benefits consulting market with much larger scale.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Global advisory firm offering pensions and benefits consulting, actuarial services, and bulk annuity support to UK DB schemes. Source of multiple senior hires at WPS.
• Aon: Global professional services firm providing actuarial, pensions advisory, and de-risking services. A broad incumbent serving large UK DB scheme sponsors alongside WPS's niche target.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Western Pension Solutions