Member Article

Christmas comes early for Kingfisher plc staff

Christmas has come early for employees of B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher plc, who are celebrating today following the maturity of two strongly performing saving schemes.

Over 2,000 workers will share a total pay out of £13.8 million thanks to the ShareSave schemes, equating to an estimated £3,516 per person.

The majority of those benefiting from the windfall are B&Q employees, 1,890 of the 2,121 participants.

100 other workers at sister company Screwfix are also in line to reap the rewards of the scheme.

Euan Sutherland, CEO of Kingfisher UK & Ireland, said: “At Kingfisher we believe that the colleagues who contribute to the success of the company should share in the rewards and it’s great news for our colleagues at B&Q and Screwfix that they can share in this pre-Christmas windfall.”

22-year-old Danielle Macey works in B&Q’s Southampton as a part time checkout assistant, and will receive a gain of £12,911 after saving the maximum £250 per month in the three-year scheme.

Ian Chesire, Kingfisher’s Group Chief Executive, said: “The business has made good progress in the past three years during what has been a difficult time for the economy and for consumers.

“Retailing is a people business and it is the hard work of our staff that has delivered this performance. I am delighted that they are sharing in the benefits.”

Kingfisher launched its ‘Delivering Value’ strategy in 2008 with the aim of improving returns to shareholders.

Annual profits have subsequently risen from £357 million to £670 million, and net debt has fallen by around £1.6 billion.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .