United Kingdom

UK - Brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle has a pension fund deficit of over £180m under FRS17, according to its 2002 preliminary results.

UK - A controlling interest in pensions information specialist Pendragon Professional Information has been bought by business publisher Wilmington Group.

UK - Leading industry bodies have largely welcomed the long-awaited Pickering Report, but stressed the need for further financial incentives.

UK - Schemes must take urgent steps to explain FRS17 shortfalls to avert "widespread panic" among members, a consultant claims.

UK - Boots has boosted the amount of inflation-linked assets in its £2.4bn pension scheme to 40% after a £150m deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

UK - Gartmore Investment Management has boosted its Japanese equity team with the appointment of Virgil Adams as senior investment manager.

UK - Members of the KPMG Staff Pension Scheme want the pensions ombudsman to resolve whether they are in a final salary or money purchase scheme.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has appointed Stephen Hart as a senior legal consultant and European principal.

UK/EUROPE - The UK has more pension assets than the rest of its European Union partners put together, a worldwide pensions study shows.

UK - Govett Investments has expanded its Japanese equities team with the appointments of Chiharu Shima as fund manager and Raymond Wong as Japan analyst.