Grid to hand out £2bn from sell-off

INVESTORS in National Grid Transco will receive £2bn from the proceeds of the group's £5.8bn gas networks sell-off through a cash-or-dividend scheme next summer.

The return will come as the latest bonanza for Grid shareholders, who will get a 20% dividend rise this year. The company is also committed to 7% rises in the payouts for three years after that.

Grid said that next summer's one-off handout will be through a B-share scheme. Shareholders will be able to receive the return as a dividend or take the cash by selling the special shares.

Grid will distribute its ordinary dividend for the year, 20% better than previously at 23.7p, at about the same time.

It today reported a 34% dive in profits to £289m for the six months to September, having previously warned about the costs of investing in new gas mains and continued restructuring, and about the effect of the dollar's weakness on its US operations.