Advice needed on selling shares

I was working for BAT from 2008 to 2010 and than made redundant, every year we got an amount of SIP shares in a plan, but when made redundant these shares became mine and I now hold them. We kinda just left them to it and they have steadily grown into a nice amount. I never really dealt with shares and just left them to it.

Fast forward a few years and we are thinking about selling them to use the money towards a new kitchen. The total value is about 9.5k. (when I got them they were worth about 5k)

Now I am new to this, so have a few questions.

1) It is a certifcate, so the shares are not held online. I can not sell them through the plan I was on as they are now in my name. The address on the certificate is our previous address, do I need to update this address before selling these shares?

2) Do I need to pay any tax on this? And does it effect our tax credits we receive or does this not count as income? (we have been declaring the dividend payments as extra income during the last few years)

3) What is the easiest way to sell them? I have looked online and found some online and telephone selling points, but they all require the certificate to be posted and I am a bit reluctant to do so with the amount of money involved. Are they local companies that you can bring them to that don't charge the earth? What can I expect to pay in commision if going through a route that does not include posting the certificate?

4) I bank with Barclays and Lloyds, do any of these banks have deals for customers with relation to selling shares?

I don't really want to keep shares in this company, so the plan was always to sell them at some point in the future. We are looking into selling them soon or in the next few months. I would really appricate some advice as like I said, never dealt with shares before.

Comments

  • Nicholas-bloody-Parsons
    Nicholas-bloody-Parsons Posts: 209 Forumite
    edited 28 June 2013 at 3:01PM
    It will be cheaper to open an account with an online broker and sell the shares online. You must send your certificates by recorded post to the broker before being able to sell. Then withdrawl the money and then close the account.


    Alternatively, you could take them into a bank who you have a relationship with and see how much they charge. I think nationwide may sell certificates for around 1% of the deal.

    I think the "big banks" are slightly more expensive to deal with.
    Barclays Stockbrokers charges are 1.5% of the deal. So this could be £135. (Very expensive ! )

    Certainly a few years ago I use to walk into the local branch of Barclays and buy and sell shares there and then.

    As for tax....... The CGT limit is around £10k, so your £5k profit is tax free.
  • menollyke
    menollyke Posts: 81 Forumite
    It will be cheaper to open an account with an online broker and sell the shares online. You must send your certificates by recorded post to the broker before being able to sell. Then withdrawl the money and then close the account.

    Thaank you for your reply. If I do go down the route of sending of the certificate, does it matter it is in my previous address or is this where the money will be sent to after the shares are sold? In other words do I need to change address first before selling the shares?
  • bowlhead99
    bowlhead99 Posts: 12,295
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    edited 29 June 2013 at 10:10AM
    You'll likely need to prove your current address as part of opening a new relationship with a broker anyway. So the fact the share certificate was printed when you lived somewhere else, is probably not a big deal.

    It would have been common sense to keep the registrar updated with your addresses as you go along anyway, otherwise you might miss out on dividends they're trying to post to you.

    Meanwhile the share price can easily move a percent or more (ie 100 quid or more) in a day, so if you've decided you don't want the investment risk any more it is likely not worth doing anything to extend the process. If for example broker A will charge you a tenner for the trade but needs a week to verify your identity paperwork, while broker B does it instantly online for twice the price, or bank C takes two hours out of your day to go to the branch and fill out the forms and discuss all their services and commute both ways - clearly broker B is the best choice.

    But if your bank can set you up in 24hrs at a high price and your top choice of brokers takes 3 days in practice to get you trading at a low price, it's down to your view of the markets over the three days which is probably a coin toss.

    As you know you don't want these shares, and it is not impossible for them to crash 20%+ over the timescale of 'now or in the next few months', I would just look at some brokers this weekend online, make a couple of calls on monday, and get it done. The market can easily move half a percent (fifty quid) while you're filling out the forms on Monday . No pressure ;)
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