Money Matters As previously reported the Company and the Trustees agreed to a new Contribution Schedule which would see significantly increased funding into the Scheme.   Since the announcement, the Company has made an initial special contribution of £130m together with the increased regular contributions of £40m per year. £60m was paid in August 2006 and the final special contribution totalling £60m is to be made this autumn.

Investment of Assets

As mentioned last year, the Trustees had agreed a long-term funding plan with the Company. All future contributions will be invested in less volatile assets such as Government Gilts and Corporate Bonds, better matching the pensions provided by the Final Salary Section of the Scheme. This strategy as mentioned before, involves the Scheme's assets being spread across a number of asset classes and geographic areas, with the Investment Committee selecting appropriate managers for each particular asset class, who are then given a specific objective to achieve. The managers employed include both 'passive' (index tracking) managers as well as active managers (managers who are expected to produce a greater investment performance than the passive managers over the longer term, but with greater fluctuations in their returns over the shorter term). The return achieved by the Scheme during the year to 31 March 2007 was 6.0%. Over three and five year periods, the annualised returns were 12.8% and 7.3% respectively.

A copy of the Statement of Investment Principles can be obtained by writing to the Kingfisher Pensions Department at the address shown here.

Another of the Trustees' principal responsibilities is to keep accounts for the Pension Scheme. Shown below is a summary of the Annual Accounts during the year to 31 March 2007, which have been audited by KPMG.

Actuarial Review

The last valuation took place on 31 March 2004, at which point a new Contribution Schedule was agreed. The next
formal valuation is scheduled for 31 March 2007 with results being known around spring 2008.