Lots of us love sniffing out a bargain and rooting around online for discount codes and money-off vouchers. However, some household-name companies reserve their biggest and best discounts for shareholders – and in some cases you can access these deals by buying just one share, which might cost as little as a pound or two.
For example, owning a single share in Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing entitles you to a discount of 35% on the company’s books. One share currently costs around £1.60, so if you are a voracious reader or have just been given a long reading list of pricey academic books for your course, that could be a good perk.
Meanwhile, if you live near a Mitchells & Butlers pub or restaurant – its brands include All Bar One, Harvester, O’Neill’s and Browns – did you know it offers shareholders an annual book of 12 discount vouchers, each worth 20% off the total bill, which can be used for up to 10 people? The minimum shareholding is one share, which would this week cost you around £2.50.
Similarly, Moss Bros (current share price around 95p) offers shareholders an annual 20% discount, while Marks & Spencer (share price around £3.50) provides annual money-off vouchers.
Shareholder gifts can give investors substantial discounts, with possible savings of tens, hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Stock market experts say that generally you should not invest in a company purely for the perks, but there are arguably some exceptions.
This could also act as a way of introducing people to the world of investing, according to stockbroker The Share Centre, which reckons students heading to university are one group that could potentially benefit. “[This] could help students get into the habit of saving and investing, as well as providing help with the costs of student life,” says Richard Stone, the firm’s chief executive. He adds that parents and grandparents, some of whom may already be familiar with stock market investing, might want to consider giving a portfolio with some of these shares to the student in their family “as a parting gift”.
With some companies, however, a minimum holding of shares is required before you can unlock the perks. For example, clothes retailer Next offers shareholders a 25% discount off purchases, but only to people holding 100 shares or more. Based on this week’s share price, this would cost more than £5,000.
Stone says it would be good to see more firms either giving shareholder perks or lowering the threshold of shares required.
Of course, the shareholder discount won’t always be the cheapest option for buying a particular item or service, and in some cases there may be deals available to everyone that are just as good, if not better. And the costs of buying shares and holding them have to be factored in, though new entrants are shaking up this market – a new share-dealing service went live in June that is offering investors the chance to buy and sell for free (see box).
If you hold your shares in a nominee account via a stockbroker you will usually be eligible for the perks (there are a few exceptions), but you may have to actively claim them.
“This is not a one-way street, and the companies involved do it in an attempt to encourage greater loyalty from customers and more business as a consequence,” says Stone. “It also gives a greater sense of overlap between the interests of shareholders and customers, which should help improve corporate governance and management.”
Here are some of the companies offering shareholder perks that don’t require a big outlay:
Aviva
Offers available to all shareholders include discounts on home, motor, travel and protection insurance.
Bloomsbury Publishing
Any investor with one or more shares can enjoy a discount of 35% off the recommended retail price on all books (print only) published by the company when they shop on its website. You fill in a short form and are sent a discount code. Bloomsbury publishes academic and professional books.
Character Group
This could be a good one in the run-up to Christmas: Character Group, the Aim-listed toy maker whose brands range from Peppa Pig and Fireman Sam to Marvel and Doctor Who, offers all shareholders a 20% discount on items bought via its retail website. Shareholders are given a promotional code.
Legal & General
The insurance firm gives all shareholders a range of discounts and special terms. Current offers include 25% off life insurance and landlord cover, and 15% off home and travel insurance.
Marks & Spencer
The retailer sends a booklet of vouchers to its shareholders each year and there is no minimum shareholding requirement. The offer consists of one 10% off voucher, one M&S Cafe voucher and a selection of Spend & Save vouchers.
Mitchells & Butlers
All shareholders receive a booklet with 12 discount vouchers each year, “irrespective of their shareholding size”. Each voucher gives 20% off the total bill when buying a main meal in its pubs and restaurants. There are 1,700 of them – other brands include Nicholson’s, Miller & Carter and Toby Carvery. The vouchers are valid every day except Christmas Day and for up to 10 people.
Moss Bros
Each April it posts a 20%-off voucher to shareholders. This is valid for one transaction on full-price items in store.
Pittards
The luxury leather goods firm offers a 20% discount for all shareholders on full-price items (bags, gloves, purses etc) sold via its website.
Renishaw
Shareholders are entitled to discounts on package holidays booked through its travel agent arm, Wotton Travel. “The discounts vary and depend on the price we get for your chosen holiday,” it says.
Trading for free
Buying and selling shares can often involve paying chunky commission and administration fees, but the digital revolution has pushed costs down. And in June this year, the UK’s first free share-trading service launched.
This app-based service, Trading 212, charges no commission for up to 10 trades a month, provided each is for no more than £10,000, and there are no admin fees for having an account. Trading 212 is using a “freemium” model, where many people get the service for free, but larger traders pay commission.
It offers access to around 1,400 UK, US and German equities, and the minimum trade is one share. It says users have “full regulatory protection” as its parent, Avus Capital UK, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Other low-cost players include Degiro, which charges £1.75 plus 0.004% for trades in UK shares.
Richard Stone at The Share Centre says it is important that investors choose a broker/platform that offers “shareholder rights” – ie, passes on the benefits to customers. “Not all brokers pass on the perks,” he adds. That said, you can sometimes apply directly to the company in which you own shares for your benefits.
