ASDA share scheme pays out £43m bonus to colleagues

Today ASDA announced that over 16,500 colleagues will share in a £43million payout thanks to the company's Sharesave plan.

This years' plan will be the largest ever payout since Wal-Mart acquired ASDA in 1999. The current stock price means all investors will receive a 150 per cent return on their monthly investments.

Shareholders who have saved a maximum of £250 per month for the past three years will pocket around £13,800 which is over £4,500 more than their original £9,000 investment.

ASDA savers will benefit even more thanks to the strength of the dollar against the pound.

The option price was set at £20.80 back in 2006 and the Wal-Mart share price was at £30.76 on Monday. This means that the average ASDA colleague investing in the scheme will receive a pay out of £2,737 Of the 95 per cent of investors choosing to cash in their Wal-Mart shares, they're planning to spend their savings on a whole host of things from second-hand tractors to attending Elvis conventions in Vegas!

The majority of colleagues receiving a payout will be spending their savings on family holidays with seven per cent planning to visit family and friends overseas with their cash. A further six per cent will pay for their weddings.

Home improvements are also high on shopping lists - 13 per cent of colleagues said they plan to spend their windfall sprucing up their homes, whilst two per cent want to spruce up themselves - with cosmetic surgery, new hair dos, wardrobes and make-overs.

ASDA: People Director, Caroline Massingham commented: "Over 200,000 colleagues have already benefited from ASDA Sharesave but this year marks our biggest ever payout since we were taken over by Walmart in 1999. Our colleagues drive the success of this business and Sharesave ensures they also reap the rewards.

"With a 50 per cent increase on the money they invested, it's great to see that over 16,500 of our colleagues rewarded with such a big windfall."

The Sharesave plan, created in 1982, was designed to give ASDA colleagues a stake in the company and the chance to share in the success of the business. The Sharesave plan allows colleagues to save between £5 and £250 every month. At the end of the saving period, colleagues gain a tax-free bonus and can choose to use the savings and bonus to buy Wal-Mart shares discounted by 20 per cent.