Manage Your Shares

Although Marks & Spencer does not endorse or recommend any one service for buying or selling our shares, our shares can be traded through most banks, building societies, stock brokers, or “share shops”. If you would like a list of stockbrokers, write to The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (PIMFA), 69 Carter Lane, London, EC4V 5EQ. Please note that dealing fees will apply and will vary between providers.

For sales of shares held in certificated form, you will need to present the original certificate(s) to the broker in order to deal.

At M&S, our share register is managed and maintained by our Registrar, Equiniti. If you have a general query about your shareholding, dividends, shareholder documentation or if you would like to notify of a change of address, please contact Equiniti via one of the options below: 

TELEPHONE: 0345 609 0810 (or +44 121 415 7071 from outside the UK) 

WEBSITE: www.shareview.co.uk 

ADDRESS:

Equiniti Limited 
Aspect House  
Spencer Road  
Lancing  
West Sussex  
BN99 6D 

A Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Liability may arise when you dispose of an asset (e.g. Shares) which is worth more when you sell it than when you acquired it.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) often change the way CGT is calculated. To keep up to date and for further information, please go to their website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/cgt 

Over the years the capital structure of Marks & Spencer has changed. One notable event has occurred that may need to be considered when calculating any CGT chargeable gain in relation to our shares:

2002 Share Consolidation and B Share Issue - Following the capital reorganisation in March 2002, the Inland Revenue has confirmed the base cost for CGT purposes was 372.35p (81.43%) for ordinary shares and 68.75p (18.57%) for B shares.

Neither Marks & Spencer nor our registrar are able to advise on CGT.

Marks & Spencer and our shareholders have supported ShareGift on a number of occasions over the years.

Shareholders with a very small shareholding, the value of which can make it uneconomical to sell, may wish to consider donating them to charity through ShareGift, a registered charity that specialises in the donation of small, unwanted shareholdings to good causes. Further information is available by visiting www.sharegift.org or calling 020 7930 3737.

M&S appreciates that there are a range of circumstances that might result in shareholders losing touch with us. We have engaged with a professional asset reunification company to communicate with investors who have, for one reason or another, become disconnected from their M&S shareholding and may have cash entitlements outstanding as a result.

There are various reasons why cash entitlements may not have been claimed by shareholders. Some of the most common reasons are:

• a shareholder not notifying the Registrar of a change of address;
• the beneficiaries or executors of an estate not being aware of the holding; or
• a shareholder simply forgetting or being uncertain about their shareholding(s).

How do accounts on the M&S share register become 'dormant'?
Prior to the phasing out of dividend cheques in 2018, some of the cheques that were mailed to shareholders twice a year were not cashed. This was often because the affected shareholders no longer lived at the address recorded in the M&S share register, and had not notified the Registrar of their new address. Once three consecutive dividend cheques were sent and remained uncashed, the shareholder in question was automatically flagged on the share register as ‘gone away’. Subsequently, in the interests of security all shareholder related mail would have been suspended until such time as the shareholder got in touch with our Registrar.

What happens to the shares registered to 'gone away' accounts, and any unclaimed dividends?
Once a shareholder's account has been flagged as 'gone away', their shares remain on the register and continue to accumulate dividends, however no further mail is sent to the shareholder's registered address. After a period of 6 years has elapsed without the shareholder re-establishing contact, their shares and any dividend payments which remain unclaimed are forfeited and returned to the Company. Rather than take these funds back as profit, M&S uses them for good causes.

What if we are unable to re-establish contact with a shareholder?
Once a shareholder has been considered ‘gone away’ for a period of 6 years and we have been unable to re-establish contact with them, their shares are forfeited and sold, with the proceeds from the sale being used for good causes rather than retained by the Company. Each January we send a Notice Letter to shareholders whose accounts have been dormant for more than 6 years. The Notice advises the shareholder that their shares are about to be sold and the proceeds of the sale forfeited. Those who receive this letter need to contact our Registrar, Equiniti, urgently on 0345 609 0810.

What if a shareholder (or person entitled to the shares) came forward after the shares have been sold?
In these circumstances, each case would be reviewed by the Company and our Registrar, Equiniti.

What should shareholders do if they do not want to use the ProSearch service?
Please contact our Registrar, Equiniti on 0345 609 0810. Lines open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding UK public holidays). Please be aware that there may also be charges for the services provided by Equiniti.