Ayr is planning on paying £300 into a fund on a monthly basis, starting 3 months from now, for 12 months. The interest earned will be at a rate of 3 per cent per month.

Note that the annuity factor for 12 periods at 3 per cent is 9.954 and the discount factors for periods 1, 2 and 3 are respectively 0.9709, 0.9426 and 0.9151.

What is the present value of these payments?

(a) £2,816

(b) £2,733

(c) £2,541

(d) £2,986