BT shares jump as group cuts pension deficit by £2bn

BT led the FTSE 100 this morning, with shares jumping sharply after it revealed it had spent £2bn cutting its pension deficit in half.

The telecoms giant and its scheme trustee have agreed the shortfall stands at just over £4bn - a huge improvement on its December 2008 position of £9bn. The company said it had agreed a new deficit recovery plan with trustees where it will make a £2bn contribution before the end of this month - paid for predominantly from its cash pile of £1.5bn. It said it would then make nine payments of £325m in March of each year from 2013 to 2022. The announcement boosted shares this morning, and by 10am they were up 5.5% or 12.2p, at 232.4p, even as the wider market fell. Many investors h...