Perks per Share

LSE: MKS

Marks & Spencer

Shareholder vouchers and EQ Boost

What shareholders get 5% extra M&S credit Registered or company nominee

What you get

M&S shareholders can exchange dividend money for shopping e-vouchers through EQ Boost. The perk is the extra spending power: you give up the cash you exchange. You can also buy other retailers’ vouchers at different rates.

The annual M&S shareholder discount vouchers ended in January 2020. The Payment Plus Shareholder Card closed to new entrants in 2017. EQ Boost is a separate service.

M&S e-vouchers

5% extra value when you spend dividend money on M&S e-vouchers. The minimum spend is £1. Check the rate before buying.

EQ Boost explained: benefits, drawbacks and how it works.

What it takes

You need to hold shares in the company.

Qualifying shares: fully paid shares eligible for EQ Boost.

You buy vouchers with dividend money held in an EQ Boost account. Shares alone give you no shopping credit.

Before buyingA perk is a minor benefit of owning a share, not a reason to buy one. Share prices fall as well as rise, and dealing costs, spreads and tax can exceed a perk’s value. This page is not investment advice. Read about the risks.

Holding through a broker

If your broker or investment app holds your shares for you, you cannot use EQ Boost. The exception is when the company arranges a service to hold shares for you. This is called a company-sponsored nominee (CSN). If you are unsure which you have, ask Equiniti to check your M&S holding.

Other conditions

Residency requirement
You must be a UK resident over 18.
Excluded holders
Corporate shareholders; Executors and administrators of deceased holdings
Joint holdings
The first named joint holder applies; the account is in their name.

How to claim

  1. 1. Change your dividend instructionIn Shareview Portfolio, select EQ Boost for your M&S holding. This replaces your current dividend instruction. Follow the activation email to register.
  2. 2. Choose your e-vouchersWhen the dividend arrives, sign in to EQ Boost and choose a retailer and an amount. Read the retailer’s voucher terms before you buy.

You need your M&S holding in Shareview Portfolio, an email address and your date of birth.

Read EQ Boost’s signup instructions 

Dates

Marks & Spencer gives no minimum holding period.

Ownership date rule
You must qualify for the dividend you redirect. M&S’s dividend page gives the record date and election deadline for each payment.
Claim deadline rule
Choose EQ Boost at least 15 working days before a dividend payment, unless another deadline is stated. A late instruction takes effect for a later dividend.
Expiry rule
Each retailer sets its voucher expiry; check before buying.

Practical notes

Your whole dividend goes into the account

You cannot redirect part of it or add your own cash. You can spend some of the balance on vouchers and withdraw the rest to a UK bank account in your name.

Check expiry and protection

Each retailer sets its own voucher expiry and spending rules. If the retailer fails, you could lose the voucher’s value. Money in EQ Boost has no Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection.

Changing your mind

You can cancel the dividend instruction through Shareview. EQ’s terms allow a refund of an unused voucher within 14 days; contact EQ to ask for one.

Sparks needs no shares

Sparks is M&S’s customer loyalty scheme. It is free to join and needs no shares. Its offers are separate from EQ Boost and the old shareholder vouchers.

History of the perk

M&S has offered both discount vouchers and dividend-funded shopping credit. The annual vouchers and the Payment Plus card were separate schemes that ran side by side.

  1. The annual M&S shareholder vouchers ended

    M&S ran its annual Shareholder Voucher scheme from 2004 to 2019 and ended it in January 2020, citing rising printing and postage costs and falling use.

    The vouchers included Spend and Save offers and a 10% discount voucher with no minimum spend. M&S reviewed the offers each year. These were individual vouchers, not a standing discount.

    We have not found a complete original booklet giving the qualifying holding, record date, exclusions and expiry for each offer. The surviving AGM answers do not settle those terms.

  2. Payment Plus closed to new entrants

    The Payment Plus Shareholder Card stopped taking new participants in 2017. M&S’s archived AGM answers say existing cards still worked like gift cards, but no new cards were issued. They do not say whether holders can still add money today.

  3. The Payment Plus Shareholder Card launched

    Equiniti and M&S launched Payment Plus for private investors. Shareholders could put some or all of a dividend into M&S Shareholder Card credit at a 10% discount. At launch, £900 of dividend money bought the maximum £1,000 of credit.

    The card worked like an M&S gift card in stores. The saving came when you bought the credit, not as another 10% off at the till. Unlike the annual discount vouchers, it used your dividend money.

  4. An extra set of shareholder vouchers

    After cutting its dividend, M&S wrote to shareholders promising an extra set of vouchers with the July dividend. This was an extra mailing in 2009, not a promise of two sets every year.