Shropshire B&Q and Screwfix workers to share in £9.7m profit windfall

More than 1,400 employees across the country are celebrating after reaping the profit from a shares-based incentive scheme at parent company Kingfisher.

The pre-Christmas windfall for store and head office staff equates to £6,897 per person, with some workers securing as much as £41,000.

Staff saved between £5 and £250 per month for either three or five years.

At the end of the chosen term, they can choose to take their savings plus tax-free bonus as cash or invest the proceeds in Kingfisher shares.

Over the course of the five-year scheme, Kingfisher's adjusted pre-tax profit rose from £357 million to £715 million while its stock market value has risen from £2.6 billion to £8.9 billion.

Those who joined the 2008 five-year plan made an average gain of £16,829 and those in the 2010 three-year plan made an average gain of £2,199.

The majority of those receiving the windfall were B&Q staff, with almost 100 employees from sister company Screwfix also benefiting.

Kingfisher's stores around Shropshire include three branches of Screwfix, on Shrewsbury's Battlefield Industrial Estate, Oswestry Trade Park, and Ludlow Business Park.

It also has two branches of B&Q, one at Harlescott in Shrewsbury, and another at Telford Bridge Retail Park.

Group chief executive Ian Cheshire said: "At Kingfisher we believe that the colleagues who contribute to the long-term success of the company should also share in the rewards.

"Ours is a people business and it is the hard work of our staff that has delivered this performance, in difficult economic conditions.

"I am delighted that they are sharing in the benefits with this pre-Christmas windfall."

The announcement comes hot on the heels of another improvement in sales for the DIY group.

Last week Kingfisher revealed its like-for-like sales had improved by 1.4 per cent to £2.92 billion in the quarter to November 2, while its retail profit increased by 1.7 per cent to £271 million.