The Lemon Fool

I just noticed that The Restaurant Group has expanded its number of outlets that make it quite an attractive proposition purely for the shareholder benefit.

However, if I bought the 250 shares needed to qualify would I receive the shareholder vouchers for this year, or would I have to wait until the next time they are issued for the whole of the year, usually at the beginning of May?

Paul

I don't know the answer to your question but, assuming you're buying the shares into a nominee held account (as the vast majority of online brokers are), are you sure your broker will pass on any such shareholder benefits?

If you say who your broker is then possibly others with direct knowledge can advise.

I can do so for IWeb. With them you have to phone up and ask to get "shareholder benefits" and they with turn it "on" for you. It applies to your whole account, you can't pick and choose by share holding, and the main "benefit" you get is being snail-mailed proxy voting forms for AGMs/EGMs, along with the possibility to attend in person. You also get sent any benefits of the sort you mention. I received Greene King vouchers for a while, and in their case they were issued annually (not on me buying their shares).

As IWeb is run by Halifax Share Dealing, which also runs Lloyds share dealing service, I would imagine the same applies to them.

My mum used to own some (directly not nominee) and she got them once a year I think with agm paperwork. From that I would presume that's when new holders would get them too.

Side thought that's occurred to me....for nominee accounts and funds who gets the perks? Do you think they're shared out at the fund managers office?

I bought 2,000 shares in them back in 2019 through Selftrade
never even heard about this "perk"
so does anyone know what happens to them

Pretty sure the law says nominee holders MUST be given all the same information and rights as direct holders. So they can get accounts, attend AGMs, and get such indirect benefits if they want them. Though the only link I can find to this is European.

But as to when any particular company does it, I can’t help.

I used to get M&S vouchers from Selftrade. Iirc they came with the AGM paperwork too.

Gryff

gryffron wrote:I used to get M&S vouchers from Selftrade. Iirc they came with the AGM paperwork too.
Gryff

I had M&S with Selftrade, never got anything in the way of vouchers, not even AGM paperwork

I used to get Whitbread shareholder benefits (now discontinued) from my holding in my SIPP at H-L. I thin I was once even able to take advantage of the free night at a Premier Inn, as well as the token amount in Costa vouchers. I presume you just ask and they'll fix it for you.

Not tried any other benefits from listed companies.

Paultry wrote:I just noticed that The Restaurant Group has expanded its number of outlets that make it quite an attractive proposition purely for the shareholder benefit.

However, if I bought the 250 shares needed to qualify would I receive the shareholder vouchers for this year, or would I have to wait until the next time they are issued for the whole of the year, usually at the beginning of May?

Paul

I can answer that cos I'm a TRG shareholder. We received our shareholder vouchers about a month ago so you have missed the boat this year. I bought mine through Hargreaves Lansdown who automatically send out the vouchers. If you hold shares in any other nominee account for anything with benefits you should contact the nominee and ask for your benefits/vouchers.

And very few of the responses will help the OP with his question. I have no idea, but if I were looking for shareholder benefits I would buy shares directly (they are usually for a very nominal amount) but read up on the conditions beforehand as to the qualifying period and timing involved.

Dod

Thank you all for the replies.

The wife already receives the vouchers from her iWEB isa, we hardly ever used them, but I can see that now it would be attractive because the Brunning & Price pub chain has expanded enormously. I can see that the vouchers would get used quite a bit at 25% off the total bill.

In the past I used them at Garfunkels in Bath, but the grub was dire. But now it will open as 'The Architect', a Brunning & Price outlet. Wagamamas is also part of TRG now but I do not know if the vouchers are valid there.

It will cost a little over £125 to qualify for an additional set of twelve vouchers, at 50p a share, sadly not for this year as was pointed out.

We did enjoy the Green King benefits. The Loch Fynne hotels cost us £32 per night in total and included a breakfast of Lobster Benedict besides lots of other goodies.

We have Marstons vouchers, only valid in SV pubs (shareholder value pubs) and it's 30% off food only. Not yet used.

Thanks again, Paul

The current TRG vouchers can be used in:
Frankie & Bennys, Chiquito, Firejacks, Filling Station, Coast to Coast, Pub Restaurants, Brunning & Price and any Concessions.

I have just emailed Interactive Investor to ask how I get these benefits

and their reply just now was

"To claim shareholder benefits please contact us and we will claim them on your behalf. I have submitted your shareholder benefit request to be processed by our shareholder benefits team."

So it appears that I have to look up all my holdings to see what I might be entitled to

Very quick service from II
just got home from work and in the post
a dozen TRG 25% off vouchers

Excellent news!

So good to know that I will not have to wait until next May.

Paul

Paultry wrote:Excellent news!

So good to know that I will not have to wait until next May.

Paul

Well maybe, maybe not.

Firstly, pje16's good experience has been with II. You haven't said who your broker is but they may not have the same policies or level of customer service in this regard.

Secondly, pje16 has said that he's held the shares since 2019, meaning that he had them in May and so his vouchers have, in effect, been sitting in a cupboard at II since then waiting for him to claim them.

So pje16's experience doesn't necessarily mean that you buying the shares now will get the same result, which is back to your original question....

I'm afraid if you buy the shares now you won't have held them on the qualifying date which was some time ago and so, won't be entitled to the restaurant vouchers for this year.

mc2fool wrote:

Paultry wrote:Excellent news!

So good to know that I will not have to wait until next May.

Paul

Well maybe, maybe not.

Firstly, pje16's good experience has been with II. You haven't said who your broker is but they may not have the same policies or level of customer service in this regard.

Secondly, pje16 has said that he's held the shares since 2019, meaning that he had them in May and so his vouchers have, in effect, been sitting in a cupboard at II since then waiting for him to claim them.

So pje16's experience doesn't necessarily mean that you buying the shares now will get the same result, which is back to your original question....

Ok I'm here
I didn't know they (TRG) had a voucher scheme
so am somehat peeved that no broker, I have used, let me know they were available to me

mc2fool wrote:

Paultry wrote:Excellent news!

So good to know that I will not have to wait until next May.

Paul

Secondly, pje16 has said that he's held the shares since 2019, meaning that he had them in May and so his vouchers have, in effect, been sitting in a cupboard at II since then waiting for him to claim them.

Would that necessarily be the case? If II nominees counts by default as a single shareholder on the register and has hoops to jump through to say otherwise, could those hoops also be a one-fixed-date-per-year thing?

I've just this morning had a message from H-L re: my Whitbread shareholder perks (which sadly no longer include Costa). They no longer operate the bulk signup, so I have to request it individually. Which is, to be fair, a single tick to a single page supplied by H-L using their corporate actions mechanism.

just found this
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shareholder-perks
BT's one is a rather archaic method