Pension fund charges hit profits at Wates

The cost of transferring the company pension scheme to a “superfund” has seen profits slide at Wates.
The contractor set aside an exceptional charge of £28.8m in its latest accounts for moving its £185m defined pension plan last December to consolidator Clara-Pensions.
Wates also said its bottom line was hit by investing heavily in divisional overheads and support functions, higher than expected costs in house-building joint ventures in developments and closing out some p