HC Deb 30 January 1985 vol 72 cc214-5W
Mr. Foulkes

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing for 29 November 1984 the number of British Telecom shareholders, excluding the Government, holding the following amounts of shares: 200 or fewer, 201 to 300, 301 to 399, 400 to 799, 800 to 1,199, 1,200 to 1,599, 1,600 to 99,999, 100,000 to 999,999 and one million or more, or a similar readily available distribution.

Mr. Butcher

The allocation of British Telecom shares under the United Kingdom offer for sale was as follows:

Number of shares allocated Number of shareholders
0 to 200 525,698
400 512,063
500 335,945
600 117,501
800 625,971
1,200 3,461
1,600 12,706
Over 1,600 8,302

These figures include allocations made to employees in their own names but do not cover shares acquired by employees under the Government's free and matching share offer, which are currently held in trust. The allottees for over 1,600 shares include 2,127 institutional and other investors who applied for shares as priority applicants in the United Kingdom offer.

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether the names and addresses of British Telecom shareholders are held on computer;

(2) if he will estimate the cost of providing the information sought by the hon. Member for Yeovil on British Telecom shareholders in his question answered on 17 January, Official Report, column 199; and if he will provide the basis of this cost estimate.

Mr. Butcher

The details of the original BT share allottees are in the course of being loaded on to computer by the six receiving bankers to the issue. An analysis of their addresses now could only be carried out manually from share application forms, which would clearly involve disproportionate effort and cost, given the numbers involved.

The details will be loaded and transferred on to computers held by two banks by late spring, and the data will then be updated to form a register. I am advised that a computer analysis at that time to obtain the information sought would be likely to require a transfer of computer tapes between the banks, and a number of computer runs through the register. The cost of doing this on current shareholder numbers is estimated at well in excess of £25,000.