The John Lewis Partnership has closed its first retail investment bond to new applications after it reached its £50m target in 11 days.

The decision to close the offer was made three weeks earlier than planned. The latest possible purchase date was set at April 11.

The 6.5% Partnership bond was offered to cardholders, customers and staff and launched on March 7.

The John Lewis bond followed a similar offer from Tesco.

Investors could put in a lump sum of between £1,000 and £10,000 for five years in return for a fixed annual return of 4.5% in cash with another 2% offered in John Lewis gift vouchers.

It was the first opportunity customers have had to invest directly in the firm.

John Lewis partnership chairman Charlie Mayfield said: “The reaction of our cardholders has been extremely encouraging. To have reached £50m of subscriptions in less than two weeks after launch shows that our customers and partners valued a mix of gift vouchers and cash return totalling 6.5%.”