Cheques amounting to £18.3 million will be sent to Jones Group shareholders next Wednesday as part of the company's cash payout scheme.

At an extraordinary general meeting in Dublin yesterday, 3.2 million shares were recorded in favour of the scheme not a single shareholder was recorded as being against. The shareholder approval brings to an end the asset disposal programme of the group which resulted in a cash surplus of £21 million.

The payout is being conducted through the repurchase of 7,793,917 ordinary shares, representing 60 per cent of the group's issued share capital. Shareholders are being offered 235p per share for 60 per cent of their holdings.

The chief executive, Mr Pat Nevin, said the company now plans to concentrate solely on its distribution business which consists of three companies in Ireland and three in Britain.

He said Jones is interested in expanding the distribution business by acquisition, most likely in Britain. "In the distribution area, the acquisitions tend to be small in nature, but we hope to make a few of them to give us the scale we want," he added. He said acquisitions were not likely this year.

"While we are now a smaller company on the market, we now have a single focus which should make the share price more attractive than it has been in recent years," he predicted.

He said he did not expect any of the remaining six companies to be sold off. The six companies are Blugas, Jones Oil and Appian Fastners in Ireland and Minster Fuels, Hardy Craske and Hall Fuels in Britain. Jones says the strength of sterling has held back profits in some of these firms.