Health and beauty giant Alliance Boots is to offload about £300m of retirement fund liabilities to specialist buyout vehicle Pension Corporation.

According to Sky News, the deal will see Pension Corporation assume the management of the old Alliance Unichem defined-benefit pension scheme. Alliance Unichem merged with Boots to form Alliance Boots in 2006.

It is reported that the scheme has about 3,000 members, and about £300m in liabilities. It is understood not to be considering outsourcing the management of its much larger Boots pension schemes.

The deal could be announced this week.

In January, Alliance Boots closed its final salary pension scheme for existing members, which affected 15,000 employees. The retailer said at the time the new scheme would be designed to provide pensions for all its employees on a “more sustainable basis”.

Alliance Boots declined to comment.