Shares in Delta, a UK engineered materials manufacturer, leapt 10% this morning after the group said it had signed a £451m (€570m) deal to offload more than two-thirds of its pension obligations. The deal caps a surge of buyout deals in recent months, with schemes worth £2.5bn transferred in the first quarter.

With a comparatively mature retirement scheme that is three times the size of its market capitalisation, Delta has been viewed as one of the prime candidates for such a deal.