ITV reports deficit fall and sells contingent asset for £150m
ITV has reported the net deficit of its defined benefit pension scheme has fallen from £105m on 30 June to just £2m on 30 September.
The media firm's third quarter trading update said the decrease in the deficit was driven by its deficit funding contribution and an increase in asset values that more than offsetted the increase in liabilities arising from a fall in corporate bond yields.
ITV also reported it had sold the London Television Centre on the capital's South Bank to Mitsubishi Estate London in an all-cash transaction for £145.6m - a property that had been pledged as a security to a section of ITV's pension scheme.
In 2014, ITV established a pension funding partnership with the trustees of the ITV Pension Scheme, backed by The London Television Centre - a deal which resulted in the assets of section A of its scheme being increased by £50m.
As part of the sale of the property, ITV said it would use part of the proceeds to replace the asset security and use the remaining cash to reduce the company's net debt.
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