shares what to do

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i have been left with the following number of ordinary shares (nat grid 308. bg group 936. cenrtica 891. scottish power 184.) ive never had anything like this before and do not no what to do with them. are the worth holding on to or should i sell them and put the money in a savings account. also how do i find out how much they are worth. thank you in advance for any help . :j

Fairwinds

Heres the values. Can't advise what you should do with them. I have two of them and they made good gains last year, but they could as easily drop back

Company Qty Bid Price value Increase 01/01/05 to 01/01/06
National Grid 308 562.5 £1,732.50
BG 936 612 £5,728.32 +62%
Centrica 891 265 £2,361.15
Scot Power 184 573.5 £1,055.24 +35%

Total £10,877.21

EdInvestor

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/cp?s=%5EFTSE

And another place to look them up.

Most of these shares pay high dividends in the 4-5% pa range.These divis are tax free to basic rate taxpayers and thus will pay you more than in a high interest account. You may thus like to keep them - or some of them.

You'll probably need to contact eanch company to change the owner's name in the share register to yours and also to give them details of your bank account so they can pay in your dividends twice a year.

They are all utility (gas/ electricity) type shares, and I'm guessing that whoever had them before got them in the Thatcher privatisations in the 80s.They will have been a good investment if so.

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thank you all very much for your time and help. iam over the moon i had no idea they where worth so much.

Fairwinds

EdInvestor wrote:

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Most of these shares pay high dividends in the 4-5% pa range.These divis are tax free to basic rate taxpayers

Ed, where do you get that from, tax is deducted at source and you get a check for the net amount.