United Kingdom

UK - ING Real Estate unit, Baring, Houston and Saunders (B,H&S), and the Board of Rugby Estates (Rugby) have joined forces to set up the ING Covent Garden Limited Partnership.

UK - Prudential has come under fire for its role in the underfunding of the United Engineering Forgings' (UEF) pension fund.

UK - Pensions benefits is one of the issues at stake in the latest train dispute involving Arriva Trains Northern and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

UK - Man Group, the parent company of asset manager Man Investment Products, has appointed Duguald Eadie to the board of directors as an independent non-executive director.

UK - High street giant Woolworths is to open its new pension scheme to members from the beginning of April.

UK - Scottish Widows is revising the way it calculates benefits for guaranteed annuity rate policies from February 1, 2002.

UK - Insurer Friends Provident was buoyed by strong new business figures for 2H, 2001 following its demutualisation last year.

UK - A leading Deutsche Bank analyst has advised companies most at risk from the impact of FRS17 to close their defined benefit schemes as a "remedial measure".

UK - Accountancy giant Ernst & Young is closing its defined benefit scheme because of worries over the new accounting standard, FRS17, and the increasing longevity of retirees.

UK - The £740m Lincolnshire County Council Pension Fund has closed a tendering process for a new £20m private equity mandate.