In a first of its kind, John Lewis – the department store chain, said it planned to issue bonds to employees and customers who hold partnership and account cards,  to raise £50 million.

The employee owned company will offer a fixed annual rate of 4.5 percent on the five years savings product and subscribers will be able to invest between £1,000 and £10,000. A further 2 percent will be paid by John Lewis vouchers.

“The Partnership Bond issue is in keeping with HM Treasury’s desire to develop non-bank lending channels to help improve macroeconomic resilience in the longer term”, said John Lewis Partnership Chairman Charlie Mayfield.

John Lewis may report a higher profit for the year on Wednesday, since its affluent consumers did not cut spending during the downturn.

“With interest rates and yields close to historical lows we believe our cardholders and partners will welcome a competitively priced, innovative product of this nature with the added comfort of the John Lewis Partnership brand and reputation”, add Mr. Mayfield.

John Lewis said that the offer is valid for a limited period – between March 7 and April 11 and will be closed once the ceiling of £50 million is reached.