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Generous bosses gave their employees a huge surprise this Christmas - after announcing an astonishing £8 million bonus would be divided between nearly 200 staff.

Lucky workers at St John Properties were not expecting the big cash bonanza, which celebrated the firm meeting its targets.

Each staff member was handed a red envelope at a Christmas dinner , revealing they would net roughly £38,000 each - depending on how long they'd worked there.

The firm, from Maryland in the US, said it wanted to make a "significant" impact on the lives of those responsible for its success.

Video of the night shows workers react with joy as they realised what had happened.

Chairman Edward St John, who founded the real estate company, revealed the refreshing bonus on Saturday.

He said: “To celebrate the achievement of our goal, we wanted to reward our employees in a big way that would make a significant impact on their lives.

“I am thankful for every one of our employees, for their hard work and dedication.

"I couldn’t think of a better way to show it.”

And the chairman continued: “I may steer the boat, but they're the ones that run the boat.

“They are the ones that make the boat go. Without the team, we are nothing.”

One employee stated: "What happened tonight was magical. It is life-changing."