UK dividend payouts to rise 18% this year

UK firms will see their dividend payouts hit £67bn this year, an 18% rise on 2010, according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Capita Registrars.

This is the highest annual total since 2008, driven by strong dividend growth in the third quarter. For the first time since Capita began its research, all sectors increased their dividends in Q3, excluding distorting factors, but cyclicals outperformed defensive sectors. Large caps overtook mid caps in the payout stakes for the first time since 2009, with FTSE 100 dividends up 17% compared to 9% from the FTSE 250. Some 228 companies paid dividends from July to September, up from 201 in Q3 2010, boosting the ratio of those reinstating or increasing payments compared to  those cutti...