Sherwood Computer Services Plc’s Sherwood Financial Systems and the Spanish division of Sema Group Plc have entered into a joint marketing agreement worth UKP2m over the next three years. The Gloucester-based arm of Sherwood Financial Services has granted exclusive rights to Sema to sell its pension system into the Spanish and Portuguese markets. Spain has recently created a pension structure very similar to the one that exists in the UK, and Spanish banks and insurance companies have been selling alternatives to the state pension since January of this year. Peat Marwick McLintock’s Deadline 1992 report suggests that Spain and Italy are set to experience a boom in private pensions, largely because of pressure on the state sector. Neither country has an established basis for the administration of pension schemes, and the report stated that the UK is well placed to exploit the likely demand for skills and systems. The Envoy pension system is written for Ingres and runs under Unix on a range of machines, including ones from ICL, DEC, and Sequent Computer Systems. It was developed for new deposit-based and unit-linked schemes, and is part of Sherwood’s Gallery range of financial systems. It accomodates the various contribution methods from both employers and individuals, and provides audit facilities on the funds being managed. Sherwood says that it is keen to build partnerships similar to the one in Spain with Sema in other European countries. Italy is expected to legislate on private pensions in the near future, and Sherwood is looking to find local partners both there and in other countries around the Mediterranean.
