Eversheds Sutherland and Herbert Smith Freehills have advised on a deal that secures the pensions of 9,000 former BHS employees.

Specialist insurer the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has agreed to take over the BHS2 pension scheme, with the deal covering £800m of liabilities and all 9,000 members.

The BHS2 scheme was set up last year after BHS collapsed, with former boss Sir Philip Green agreeing to inject £363m of funding into the new setup.

The PIC deal means all those who chose to enter the BHS2 Scheme will have their pensions secured in full. It does not include members who chose to transfer into the Pension Protection Fund, or some eligible members with small pensions who chose to take a lump sum in lieu of their pension.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised the scheme's trustees with a team led by pensions partner Mark Latimour and including BHS client partner Emma King.

The firm previously advised the trustees on the agreement with Green last year.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has advised PIC, with a team led by pension partner Samantha Brown.

BHS collapsed into administration in 2016, a year after Green's Arcadia Group sold the retailer off for £1 to Retail Acquisitions. Linklaters and Olswang advised on the sale.

Several firms have been involved in the fallout from the high street stalwart's collapse, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acting for Sir Philip Green on his legal challenge against the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) report on the audit of BHS prior to its £1 sale in 2015.

The magic circle firm advised Green's company Taveta Investments, which filed a judicial review with the intention of forcing the FRC to amend its report, with Andrew Green QC of Blackstone Chambers acting as counsel.

A London team from Weil Gotshal & Manges acted for BHS when the retailer filed for administration in 2016, while Linklaters also has a longstanding relationship with Green and his Arcadia Group, acting for Green throughout the parliamentary inquiry into the BHS collapse and regulatory enforcement action, with disputes partner Andrew Hughes taking the lead role.