£100bn dividend record

A BUMPER one-off dividend from BHP helped shareholder payouts leap to a record £19.7bn in the first quarter of this year.

The amount paid surged by almost 16pc, helped by FTSE 100 miner BHP’s £1.7bn special dividend from the more than £8bn sale of its US shale oil assets to BP.

Total UK dividends are expected to break the £100bn barrier for the first time this year, according to figures from Link Asset Services, which forecast investor payouts to rise by 6pc to £106bn in 2019.

As well as oil and gas companies, tobacco firms also upped the amount they handed out between January and March.