Equities have shaken off their torpor and are again attracting small investors. Punters who club together can share the risks - and gains.

Although few experts saw it coming at the start of the year, London shares have enjoyed such a solid and steady advance this year that the top 100 firms in the FTSE-100 index are already showing a rise of eight to nine per cent, with nearly four months of the year still to go.

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at discount broker Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers (HLS), said: "It isn't difficult to see why small investors are beginning to take a close interest in equities again.

"Add the average UK company dividend of 3.5 per cent to annual growth in the index above seven per cent and that's an annual gain of 10.5 per cent, which easily beats anything else available to savers at the moment."

Mindful of hefty losses a few years ago, many small investors want to run their ideas past other enthusiasts before they buy.

According to HLS, investment clubs consisting of anything between two and 20 investors are carefully building portfolios again, often after lengthy meetings and detailed research undertaken in their local pub. Members make a minimum subscription each month, and to decide share choices after discussion.

Says Mr Hunter: "Investment clubs are a great opportunity for anyone to get investing, from serious and experienced investors to groups with a more lighthearted approach who make decisions over a pint at the pub."

Mr Hunter says investment clubs members might know more about the prospects of smaller companies than City analysts, who do most of their research by quizzing bosses.

With shares already so far ahead this year, oil prices topping 70 US dollars a barrel, and High Street retailers complaining of the grimmest conditions in 22 years, gains from here could be limited - even when two or three pints in the saloon bar add a new dimension to your thinking.

But when savers see interest rates fall on their savings, after the recent rate cut from the Bank of England, some might want to put their cash to better use.

With a handful of shares, there may be an extra dividend to fatten up that double digit return - in the shape of discounts on goods or services available only to the company's shareholders.

Hundreds of travellers to the Continent, for example, enjoy cut-price ferry travel by buying at least £600 of a certain class of share issued by P&O Ferries.

British Airways offers 10 per cent off advertised fares for shareholders, while First Choice Holidays, another impressive performer so far this year, offers 10 per cent discounts on package and flight-only holidays from First Choice and Unijet and some smaller subsidiaries.

As a small shareholder at Austin Reed, I have enjoyed 15 per cent discounts on fully-priced goods, but not sale prices, for years. And shares in The Restaurant Group give me a set of vouchers each year to cut bills by 25 per cent in any of the group's High Street eateries.

Mr Hunter says: "Good companies understand that shareholders should come first in any deliberation about the future policy of the business.

"Having shareholders who use the company's products at a discount or with some incentive focuses the minds of the management that their owners (the shareholders) are sampling the wares and products they provide. This is prima facie evidence that companies are really trying to add shareholder value."

He advises shareholders never to buy a share purely for "perks". But when shares pay a good dividend and show a rise, perks can be the icing on the cake.

On its website, HLS has just updated its list of firms offering perks to shareholders. It includes Bloomsbury Publishing, where shares soared on the back of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Anybody with a minimum 250 shares in Bloomsbury, worth about £900 at current prices, can buy any Bloomsbury books for 35 per cent off the market price.

Shareholders at housebuilder Bellway get a discount of £625 for £20,000 of the asking price of a new home, providing they hold at least 2,000 shares. Other builders offering similar deals include Barratt and Persimmon.

Bearing in mind the rapid consolidation of the drinks industry, some shareholders might be tempted by vouchers for use in pubs and hotels from Kentish brewer Shepherd Neame.

Car dealer Lookers, a leading supplier of Vauxhall cars, offers a further £100 discount off to holders of a minimum 1,000 shares.

In an uncertain climate, companies have also been rewarding shareholders this year by paying fatter dividends, and returning cash to them if there is no obvious place to invest it.

Hargreaves Lansdown:

0845 345 0800

www.hargeaveslansdown.co.uk/stockbrokers