John Lewis Partnership
Partnership Bond
John Lewis Partnership owns John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets. The business is held in trust for its employees, called Partners.
RepaidThe Partnership repaid the retail bond in April 2016.
What bondholders got
Bond issuer: John Lewis plc.
The five-year Partnership Bond paid 4.5% a year in cash plus 2% in John Lewis Partnership gift vouchers. The vouchers could be spent at John Lewis and Waitrose, in shops or online. The April 2011 issue raised £58 million.
Who could subscribe?
Applicants had to be UK residents aged 18 or over, excluding the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. They also needed a registered partnership card or Account Card activated by 12 February 2011, or employment as a Partner begun by that date. Subscriptions ran from £1,000 to £10,000 in £1,000 steps. The invitation set a closing date of 5pm on 11 April 2011. The issuer’s bond website warned that it could close earlier if oversubscribed.
A loan, not employee ownership
The bonds paid interest and vouchers; they gave holders no shares or voting rights in the Partnership. They were unsecured and could not be transferred.
History
-
Retail bond repaid
The Partnership’s 2017 results confirm repayment of the retail bond issued in 2011.