Alliance & Leicester Share....

itsnothing

Hi I have A & L shares (250) and I have been reading in places to sell up now as there will be tax complications once they are santan shares, is this right? Also apparently when you go to sell them if you do again it will be a complicated thing to do!
I don't really want to give them up because of the low prices at the moment but if it means hassle and less once they are santan what should I do? Anyone else in the same position or can tell me what they are planning to do/would do?

Thankyou!

Bazn

i'm in a similar situation. as far as i understand it, you will get santander shares to replace the AL shares, at the rate agreed in the takeover. these will then fall u nder spanish tax rules, so dividends will be taxed at 18% (non-reclaimable).

the only way to get them treated as UK taxed is to fill in a form for the spanish authorities AND fill out a full UK tax return. basically a big headache.

so the reasonable options are to either sell the shares or leave things be.

my shareholding is only small, so i'v decided that the commission for selling would far outweigh any tax benefits so i'm just gonna carry on holding santander. i'm guessing you would find the same, as 250 shares is not a hug amount (more than me though!)

plus santander actually seems like a good place for my money... they have good global exposure including a big presence in latin america.

thats my take on the situation. i know its confusing but hope it helps.

PS one extra complication. if you want to sell, then do it before 10th october, because after that you have to fill in spanish paperwork if you sell (and you can be fined €100 if you sell without this form)

itsnothing

thanks its made it a lot easier!!! I think like yourself Im going to leave it! It is more hassle then its worth! At least I will get a slight bit of money every now and again from santan!!

MarkyMarkD

Santander's dividend yield is miles lower than A&L's though, so you won't get the income you have been used to.

I think that Bazn's missing the point. It's not worth getting rid of the Santander shares because of the tax implications of owning Spanish shares, but to avoid the admin hassle which is disproportionate if you have a tiny number of shares.

Davesnave

Last Friday, when there was a huge Stock Market rally, (v short lived!) you'd have got well over £3 for them, but now they do seem to have continued their slide. Suspiciously, I found I couldn't sell on Friday at the point when I wanted to; the system told me there was a temporary fault & to come back later!!!

itsnothing

So is it best to sell now, although they are low? Im only 18! I don't know what to do but just want the best for my money! If its best in an isa or a websaver then I will put it there just want the best advice.....

Davesnave

itsnothing wrote: »

So is it best to sell now, although they are low? Im only 18! I don't know what to do but just want the best for my money! If its best in an isa or a websaver then I will put it there just want the best advice.....

Well, I got rid because it would have been an extra hassle filling-in paperwork for the relatively small return. (Only had 150) Up to now, these have given a better return than putting their cash value into an eSaver account, but it seems that Santander will pay less than A&L. Santander are safe enough as an institution, but I don't see any bank shares doing well in the near future.

I don't think any of us can give you a definitive answer, as there is an element of personal perception and preference involved here.

Academic

I've just sold my 250 A&L shares. The possible complications of holding Spanish-based shares and the lower dividend yield from Santander was enough to convince me that I'd had a good run with A&L shares. The way I looked at it was I got them for nothing, I've had good dividends, so it has all been 'free' money.

I had a paper share certificate and in the end I sold via the Moneyextra share dealing service which charged a flat fee of £20. I realise it can be done cheaper but I wanted to sell before the early October deadline and couldn't be bothered with the hassle of setting up a share dealing account and the CREST transfer of my shares.

Along with the share certificate I had to send 2 forms of ID (bank statement & a bill) but the service was very prompt and my documents were returned the following day.

Given the possible US bail out of their financial market I can see that the share price might rally early next week but it's getting close to the October deadline for selling so I've jumped ship

itsnothing

Ok thats great thank you all for your comments, I have 250 shares in a sharesafe? I assume I can just phone them up to sell them, also when is the deadline, I'm just thinking there is a dividend coming up within the next week is there not?

Bazn

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Santander's dividend yield is miles lower than A&L's though, so you won't get the income you have been used to.

I think that Bazn's missing the point. It's not worth getting rid of the Santander shares because of the tax implications of owning Spanish shares, but to avoid the admin hassle which is disproportionate if you have a tiny number of shares.

hmm what admin hassle? i don't intend on doing any admin... i'm just gonna hold on leave things be. no tax return and no spanish paperwork. what am i missing?

ad44downey

Bazn wrote: »

hmm what admin hassle? i don't intend on doing any admin... i'm just gonna hold on leave things be. no tax return and no spanish paperwork. what am i missing?

What about dividend payments?