Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2007
31. Own shares
Employee trusts have been established for the purposes of satisfying certain share-based awards. At 31 December 2007, the trusts held 5,636,875 (2006: 8,444,416) non-voting ordinary shares costing £50.6 million (2006: £73.9 million), with a market value of £65.8 million (2006: £88.3 million). In addition, the trusts held 4,948,846 (2006: 3,494,308) ordinary shares costing £52.4 million (2006: £35.1 million), with a market value of £64.4 million (2006: £39.0 million). Dividends on shares held by the trusts are waived.
Movements during the year were as follows:
| 2007 £mn |
2006 £mn |
|
|---|---|---|
| At 1 January | (90.9) | (45.7) |
| Own shares purchased | (21.5) | (90.8) |
| Own shares disposed through sale to third parties | 15.9 | 33.5 |
| Own shares disposed through vesting1 | 21.0 | 12.1 |
| At 31 December | (75.5) | (90.9) |
1On vesting, own shares balances are transferred to the profit and loss reserve insofar as they relate to share-based payments and to the shares to be issued reserve insofar as they relate to certain contractual obligations to issue shares (for example, as part of the consideration for an acquisition). Any profit or loss made on disposal is recorded directly in the profit and loss reserve.
| 2007 | 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of shares Units |
Cost £mn |
Market value £mn |
Number of shares Units |
Cost £mn |
Market value £mn |
|
| Group | ||||||
| Shares funded by employing companies | 3,115,287 | 27.5 | 36.4 | 1,989,639 | 18.1 | 20.8 |
| Own shares | 7,470,434 | 75.5 | 93.8 | 9,949,085 | 90.9 | 106.5 |
| 10,585,721 | 103.0 | 130.2 | 11,938,724 | 109.0 | 127.3 | |
| Company | ||||||
| Own shares | 5,837,357 | 58.3 | 74.1 | 7,938,934 | 71.9 | 85.3 |