Annual report and financial statements 2009
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Notes to the Company financial statements
41 Share capital
a) Equity
| 2009 £m |
2008 £m |
|
|---|---|---|
| Authorised | ||
| Equity share capital | ||
| 4,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 10p each (2008: 4,000,000,000) | 400 | 400 |
| Issued and fully paid | ||
| Equity share capital | ||
| 2,629,813,268 ordinary shares of 10p each (2008: 2,686,071,130) | 263 | 269 |
i) Ordinary shares
| 2009 £m |
2008 £m |
|
|---|---|---|
| At start of period | 269 | 268 |
| Shares purchased for cancellation | (6) | – |
| Share options exercised | – | 1 |
| At end of period | 263 | 269 |
The Company purchased 57,788,600 of its own shares in the open market for cancellation between 31 March 2008 and 21 November 2008 at a cost of £146m. The shares repurchased represent 2.15% of the ordinary share capital at 3 February 2008.
b) Non-equity
The authorised and issued preference share capital of the Company is as follows:
| 2009 £m |
2008 £m |
|
|---|---|---|
| 5¼% cumulative redeemable non-convertible preference shares of £1 each | ||
| Authorised 50,000,000 (2008: 50,000,000) | 50.0 | 50.0 |
| Issued and fully paid 282,666 (2008: 282,666) | 0.3 | 0.3 |
The 5¼% cumulative preference shares, which are classified as a current liability in accordance with FRS 25 Financial instruments: Disclosure and Presentation, do not carry any voting rights and were issued in 1987 at £1 per share.