§ Mr. Woodallasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the number of shares which the Government have held in the British Sugar Corporation since its creation in 1936, stating any transactions for the purchase or sale of British Sugar Corporation shares, and the date of such transactions, and the percentage shares of issued capital which the total shareholding represented at these times.
§ Mr. BishopThe figures are given below. The Government have at no time traded in British Sugar Corporation shares.
Date of acquisition Number of shares Percentage of issued capital 1936 … 750,000 15 1964 … 3,625,000 36.25* 1977 … 3,625,000 24.18†‡ * Includes 2,500,000 shares (25 per cent.) held by the Sugar Board (a statutory body) between 1964 and 1977. † Share restructuring—rights issue. ‡ At the last annual general meeting of the British Sugar Corporation on 2nd March 1978, a further restructuring of the share capital was agreed, involving a scrip issue and a halving of the nominal value of the shares. When completed the Government will hold 14,500,000 shares, but their percentage share of the issued capital will be unchanged at 24.18 per cent.