Standard Life said yesterday that 74 per cent of its members could get a payout of at least £1,000 sterling (€1,672) if it floated with a market capitalisation of at least £12 billion sterling. Europe's biggest life and pensions mutual was opening its campaign to retain mutual status - carpetbaggers have forced a June 27th vote on flotation - by trying to focus attention on those of its members standing to gain least from such a move.

The company has 150,000 policyholders in Ireland, of whom 70,000 stand to gain in any payout. By Standard Life's own numbers, the 75 per cent majority required by those in favour of demutualising could be almost entirely achieved by those likely to receive a four-figure payout. British mutual members have invariably voted to take the cash in the past.

The demutualisation camp is headed by Monaco-based Mr Fred Woollard and other Standard Life members who last month forced it into setting a date for a vote. Mr Woollard and his supporters, hoping to realise big gains through a number of second-hand policies they have bought, say the average windfall would be around £6,300. It was they who touted the £12 billion figure, the bottom of a range up to £15 billion.

A Standard Life spokesman said Mr Woollard was playing with arithmetic and 80 per cent of members would get less than £6,000 on a £12 billion valuation.

He also said it was wrong to give any estimate of Standard Life's potential market capitalisation since any float was a couple of years away.

Based on Standard Life's 2.3 million members, the average payout at £12 billion would be £5,200. At £15 billion, the average payout would be £6,500 pounds. Standard Life was formed in 1825 and now has five million customers and £79 billion in assets under management.