G1 Group asks JLT for pensions advice

PUBS tycoon Stefan King has drafted in consultancy firm JLT to advise his G1 Group on “auto-enrolment”, a seismic change to the pensions market.

G1 Group – which runs Edinburgh’s the Three Sisters, Glasgow’s the Corinthian Club and the Playhouse Cinema in Perth – employs a total of 1,800 staff throughout Scotland.

Due to its large size, new laws will require the company to place all of its workers into a pension scheme from 1 September, unless staff opt out.

David McDowell, operations director at G1 Group, said: “We see auto-enrolment as an
opportunity – an additional means by which we can motivate and engage with our employees as we work out how best to implement a pension scheme for the benefit of everyone.”

Companies with 120,000 or more staff on their pay rolls have been subject to auto-enrolment rules since 1 October.

Small companies with fewer than 30 staff will be brought into the scheme via a series of deadlines running through until 2017 and 2018.

Auto-enrolment could provide a boost for pensions providers such as Edinburgh-based Aegon UK and Standard Life.