118 118 owners ring up £64m dividend

THE owners of directory enquiries service 118 118 pocketed a £64 million dividend last year, despite a tenth-consecutive fall in turnover at the telecoms firm.

Accounts just filed for The Number UK Ltd, the firm behind 118 118 and its ubiquitous ‘running men’ adverts, show the megadividend was paid out during the financial year ending December 31, 2017, during which turnover dropped from £40million to £28.5 million and it made just £2.4million profit.

The numbers are a far cry from previous years and come amid mounting speculation that the Government may clamp down on premium phone line numbers.

Accounts for 2010 revealed the company had a profit of £89.6million on sales of £113million. But the business remains lucrative despite threats. It has cash reserves of £37.3million and net assets of more than £112 million.

The firm said the results ‘continued to reflect’ the popularity of 118 118, but its decline follows a growing reliance on computers or phones to find numbers for free. Critics argue less techsavvy customers such as the elderly are hit hardest by the costs.