Jan 23, 2017

UK dividends hit record after pound devaluation

The slide in the value of sterling has a created a dividend windfall for investors with UK payouts increasing by a record £5.2bn in the fourth quarter of last year. The fourth-quarter record pushed total UK dividends up to almost £85bn in 2016, a 6.6 per cent jump on the previous year. "But the second-largest haul of special dividends on record, with the added alchemy of huge exchange rate gains following the pound's devaluation in the summer, ultimately turned a rather leaden year golden." The top five payers accounted for 38 per cent of UK dividends in 2016, up from one-third in 2015. Capita Asset Services forecasts dividends will rise £5.9bn this year with two-thirds of this down to the effect of the weaker pound.

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