Prize bond sales in the first half of 1998 have far exceeded expectations with two-thirds of last year's total sales already achieved in the first six months of 1998.
The Prize Bond Company said a record £17.9 million was invested in prize bonds in the first half of the year, an increase of almost 38 per cent on the same period of 1997. May was the single busiest month for prize bond sales with £4 million invested in that month alone although the upward trend has continued into July and August, according to the Prize Bond Company, a joint venture between An Post and Fexco, the Foreign Exchange Company of Ireland.
"In the current low interest rate environment, the smart money is moving to prize bonds and the chance to win anything up to £100,000," said Mr Michael O'Keeffe, chairman of the Prize Bond Company. He added that with the growing Prize Bond Fund - it now stands at £161 million - there are currently over 600 prizes in the Friday draw every week.
Prize bonds are sold in post offices, banks or through stockbrokers and offer investors the chance to win tax-free cash prizes without losing their original investment. There is a weekly star prize of £15,000 and a monthly prize of £100,000 and the identity of winners remains confidential. Funds invested in prize bonds are managed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) for the Exchequer.
The Prize Bond Company also reported an increase in the size of the average purchase unit, reflecting a trend toward more large scale investment in the bonds. The average purchase in the first half of the year was £170, or 34 separate bonds. More than 15,000 winners shared a prize fund of £2.7 million over the period. At present, a £1,000 holding in prize bonds gives the owner a better than one-in-six chance of winning a cash prize every year which makes them a popular alternative to ordinary savings accounts, the company said.
