Some public companies - particularly those in the leisure business - offer perks to shareholders. Hotel companies like Jurys and Ryan offer cut-price deals, while travel groups like Irish Continental also offer discounts to loyal shareholders.

So it is no great surprise that Thomson Holidays which owns Budget Travel in Ireland and is the biggest British tour operator is offering discounts to private investors who subscribe to the £1.7 billion flotation of the travel group.

People who invest in Thomson will qualify for a 10 per cent discount off the cost Thomson holidays for as long as they hold their shares.

A minimum investment of £500 sterling is required for the Thomson flotation and for membership of the "Founders Club". This allows members to get a 10 per cent discount off their holidays through discount and also to book holidays for a group as long as the member is travelling with the group.

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Buy £5,000 sterling worth of holidays from Thomson and you'll get a discount that covers the cost of buying the £500 worth of Thomson shares. No wonder Thomson has been flooded with inquiries by "Sids" and been able to hike up the flotation of the company by a third to £1.7 billion sterling.

But wait a minute before you get swallowed up in the rush that 10 per cent discount only applies to the quoted price in Thomson brochures. So if a price war erupts once again in the British travel trade and these have been regular occurrences in the recent past, the "Founders Club" members will only get 10 per cent off the brochure price and not the actual price at which the holidays are being sold.

Obviously, Thomson isn't expecting a rush to invest from Irish punters application forms are only available from five British share shops Barclays, Hargreaves Lansdowne, NatWest, Skipton Building Society and The Share Centre. Forms and cheques have to be back with the brokers by May 7th. Happy holidays!