§ Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to the number of British Telecom shareholders now holding (a) between one and 399 shares, (b) between 400 and 700 shares, (c) between 800 and 1,599 shares and (d) between 1,600 and 1 billion shares; and if he will state for each of the categories (a) to (d) (i) what is the number of shares, and (ii) what percentage of the total shares, including the Government's, that represents.
§ Mr. Geoffrey PattieWhile this is properly a matter for British Telecom, I understand that the latest information available, showing the pattern of shareholdings at 30 November 1985, is as set out in the table. Figures for category (ii) are only available for holdings between 400 and 799 shares.
17W
Size of holdings Number of holdings Percentage of total Number of shares held (millions) Percentage of total (iii) 800–1,599 356,772 21.6 289 4.8 (iv) 1,600–1,000 million and above 27,139 1.7 5,256 87.6 Totals 1,649,722 100 6,000 100 Category (iv) includes the Government shareholding of 2,988 millions shares, or 49.8 per cent. of total shares.