Option

[Alan24]

I have recently been offered a share option on some utility shares I hold. Im minded to take a partial amount. Could you help with the following :

1) can I decide the amount bought
2) can you sell the rights instead and how

Cheers

[Arborbridge]

I have recently been offered a share option on some utility shares I hold. Im minded to take a partial amount. Could you help with the following :

1) can I decide the amount bought
2) can you sell the rights instead and how

Cheers

These options should both be available, but the process depends on your broker. Usually, they would send you a message tabling the options you have, or if not, I would contact them to enquire.

Arb.

[dealtn]

I have recently been offered a share option on some utility shares I hold. Im minded to take a partial amount. Could you help with the following :

1) can I decide the amount bought
2) can you sell the rights instead and how

Cheers

What's the option? I suspect your terminology might be wrong. Are you referring to the National Grid Rights Issue?

[Alan24]

Yes the National grid rights issue. I have held shares in this company for many years using the dividends as a passive income means.The share price has taken a hit but I expect it to recover eventually. Same can’t be said for the proposed dividend rate unfortunately.

[dealtn]

Yes the National grid rights issue. I have held shares in this company for many years using the dividends as a passive income means.The share price has taken a hit but I expect it to recover eventually. Same can’t be said for the proposed dividend rate unfortunately.

1) Yes (up to the limit of the rights attached to your existing holding). You can buy none, some or all.

2) Yes. You can sell none, some, or all. In fact (usually) if you do nothing your broker will effectively sell them for you, with the cash proceeds added to your account. Your broker will tell you the process - although you might in practice have to log in to your account and find a "notification".

[tjh290633]

Have a look at this topic, viewtopic.php?p=665977#p665977 where the various options have been discussed. Look in both directions from that post.

TJH

[Alan24]

Okay thanks. If I only buy some of my rights option do I get the remainder as a cash payment. Also what sort of value would this be

[dealtn]

Okay thanks. If I only buy some of my rights option do I get the remainder as a cash payment. Also what sort of value would this be

You can buy some, and sell the rest. You can make this cash neutral so the portion sold fund the funds needed to buy the remainder.

Honestly though read the notification from your broker as the best explanation.

[Alan24]

Okay thanks

[tjh290633]

Okay thanks. If I only buy some of my rights option do I get the remainder as a cash payment. Also what sort of value would this be

What usually happens is that the company broker will gather all the lapsed rights, make them fully paid, and then sell in the market as fully paid shares.

If they were able to sell them for 900p, for example, they would deduct the 645p subscription and pay the difference, less a small fee, to the holders of the lapsed rights. In this case it would be 255p.

TJH

[Alan24]

Went for the tail swallowing option in the end.maybe best both worlds ?

[Alan24]

Ive done my calculations and it seems that I have not been offered any share options for my shares bought under the SIP scheme with nationalgrid. Should this be the case ?

[the0ni0nking]

Ive done my calculations and it seems that I have not been offered any share options for my shares bought under the SIP scheme with nationalgrid. Should this be the case ?

This is testing my memory now, but when the company I worked for did a rights issue - I don't think I got any option in respect of the shares held in the SIP. I simply ended up with a distribution of the rights cash.

I've looked on our app and there is no documentation provided about what choices I had - all I can see is a distribution of the cash units that were generated.

Maybe I did have a choice but if we did, I'm surprised I didn't take it up as I would have had the cash available etc to do so - maybe it's one of the limitations of the SIP as it's a specifically approved HMRC share plan.

If you're an ongoing employee, I'd have expected something to be provided either direct to you or for some detail to be provided on the Intranet etc as to the choices available (if indeed you do have any choices other than letting them lapse and receiving the cash)

[Alan24]

Ive recently retired from the company so my SIP shares were released to me. It does look like that they are treated differently. I did try contacting the holding company but they are very busy it seems ?

[the0ni0nking]

If you're recently retired/left the company, as I understand it you can no longer hold those shares in the Company SIP - they'd be transferred out to you - either to a brokerage account specified by you or (potentially and I'm not certain of this) into the Company SPA (Share Plan Account).

In either case, I'd have expected you to get documentation of your options from the broker or the SPA manager (if Equiniti manage the share plans for NG then Equiniti will likely manage the SPA)

[Alan24]

Okay cheers. I did manage to sort it out in the end. My SIP shares were transferd to Equiniti CSN system. Have applied for Tail swallowing on those ones to.