Mazars has claimed it conducted itself under the ‘highest professional standards’, after accounting watchdogs launched an investigation into its advice on the buyout of the pension scheme of wine store Threshers.

Mazars’ guidance on the transfer of First Quench Pension Fund is being probed by the Accountancy and Actuarial Disciplinary Board following a report from the Pensions Regulator.

We are surprised at the AADB’s decision to launch an investigation into this matter,’ said Mazars. ‘We are confident the advice was to the highest professional standards and we will of course fully co-operate with the AADB during the course of the investigation. It would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this point.’

The probe will set the alarm bells ringing among pension fund trustees, pensions experts have warned.

David Johnson, of trustee recruiters Trustee GAAPS, said: ‘The desire among companies to offload their pension schemes is not going to go away. Buy-outs can create a win/win solution for pension fund holders and the sponsoring company. However, neither the sponsoring company nor trustees want a bad deal to come back and haunt them.’

The AADB confirmed this week it had launched a probe into the conduct of Mazars and of an individual in relation to ‘the provision of advice to the Trustee of the First Quench Pension Fund in connection with an employer substitution’.