As Julian Richer is working with us, and following his news to share the ownership of the Richer Sounds company with colleagues, are we looking at ways we can increase share ownership amongst our colleagues, such as free shares?

Julian Richer has recently done an amazing thing, to agree to pass on his business, Richer Sounds, to his employees through an employee-benefit trust. Over time, they will come to own a majority of the business.

We do not currently have plans to give free shares to employees, but we are strong advocates of colleague share ownership. We operate a number of share schemes for our colleagues, including 2 schemes for all employees: Sharesave, which has around 32,000 participants with an average monthly saving of £110; and, Sharebuy, with around 2,820 participants with an average monthly saving of £60.

We regularly review our colleague offering to make sure our schemes are relevant, provide value for money and drive the business strategy.