Thousands of Tesco employees have qualified for a £110 million windfall from their company’s saving scheme.

A total of 45,000 Tesco staff will each receive up to £30,000. They can now purchase shares in the company, at a price set when they joined the Save As You Earn scheme, and sell them straight away as a profit or keep them as an investment.

They payouts follow the maturation of two of Tesco’s savings plans, the three-year and five-year options. Staff invested up to £250 a month and will receive a bonus equivalent to 2.75 monthly payments under the three-year scheme and 7.5 monthly payments with the five-year plan.

Those who joined five years ago can buy shares at 136p, while those who signed to the scheme in 2000 are being offered them at 198p. The share price closed at 240.75p yesterday.

Tesco said that more than 67 per cent of its staff were choosing to reinvest their shares.

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