ELECTRICITY PRIVATISATION, NORTHERN IRELAND: COSTS

HL Deb 23 March 1994 vol 553 cc26-7WA

Lord Gainford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What were the administrative costs of the. electricity share offer and the trade sale of the: generating stations in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Denton of Wakefield

The costs to the Government of the electricity share offer and sale of the generating stations in Northern Ireland are estimated as follows:

	£ million
Underwriting	2.9
Selling and broking commission	1.5
Advisers' fees	14.5
Marketing	1.4
Receiving bank	1.7
Share information office, printing and other logistical costs	2.0
Total	24.0

These costs represent about 3 per cent of the total proceeds due from the sale of the generating stations, the sale of shares in the electricity share offer and the repayment of debt, which together are estimated at £730 million. The costs exclude stamp duty and VAT on services provided to the Government, which are not net costs to the Exchequer, and incentives on employee and individual shareholdings. The figures include expenditure incurred from April 1991 to the end of January 1994, but do not include costs incurred in previous years primarily on the restructuring of the industry, which amounted to about £3.1 million.