§ Mr. Nelsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list the public sector companies, including companies in which the National Enterprise Board has had an interest, in which shares have been sold since May 1979; and what was the value of each share sale and the names of the merchant banks which handled each offer.
§ Mr. RidleyThe following table shows the major sales since May 1979 of publicly-owned shares in companies, other than those held by the NEB, and the merchant bank advising in each case:
Value £ Merchant Bank million (outturn prices) 1979–80 Sale of shares in the 276 None British Petroleum Company Limited Sale of shares in Drake 1 J. Henry Schroder Wagg and Scull Holdings and Company Limited Limited Sale of shares in Suez 22 None Finance 1980–81 Sale of shares in British 43 Kleinwort, Benson Limited Aerospace Limited 1981–82 Sale of shares in British 44 Lazard Brothers and Sugar Corporation Company Limited Sale of shares in Cable 184 Kleinwort, Benson Limited and Wireless* Sale of shares in 64 N.M. Rothschild and Sons Amersham Limited International National Freight †6(est) J. Henry Schroder Wagg Company and Company Limited * Before deduction of VAT and stamp duty.
† Gross proceeds total £55.5 million, before payments of about £47.3 million to fund Pension Fund deficiencies.
The following table shows table shows the sales since May 1979 of shares in companies held by the NEB. The nature of the advice, including merchant bank advice, taken by the NEB prior to making disposals is a matter for the Board.
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Company Receipts (£million) 1979 Hird Brown 0.4 ICL 37.2 1980 Brown Bovery Kent (Holdings) Ltd 2.6 Barrow Hepburn Ltd 0.27 Computer and Systems Enginering Ltd 2.14 Fairey Holdings Ltd 21.8 Ferranti Ltd 55.2 Middle East Building Services Ltd *Note New Town Securities (Northern) Ltd 0.13 R. R. Chapman (Sub-Sea Surveys) Ltd 0.35 1981 Automation and Technical Services (Holdings) Ltd 0.9 Megretti and Zambra Ltd 0.5 System Designers International Ltd 1.19 Energy Equipment Ltd 0.08 CIC Investment Holdings Ltd †Note Note:
* The proceeds from this sale were a nominal sum of £1.
Note:
† Receipts of £3 million accrue in 1948.