Yorkshire Electricity Group plc

confusedagain62

Going through my late dad's belongings I came across two share certificates for Yorkshire Electricity Group plc one has the registrar named as National Westminster Bank and the second Royal Bank of Scotland.

I have checked online and can see Yorkshire Electricity Group plc is still active, but I do not believe either of the previously named registrars are still valid.

I need to help in identifying who I need to advise of my father's passing so the shares can be transferred in accordance with his will. Equiniti were the registrar for all his other shares but they could offer no advice or help in relation to the Yorkshire Electricity Group plc shares

I read on another thread that the registrar had changed to either Computershare or Capita & have also contacted these with no success.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6678797/yorkshire-electricity-group-plc

Are these certificates from the original privatisation?

If so, like most of the privatised electric companies, Yorkshire appear to have been purchased by another company in 1997 - your dad would probably have been given the option to accept an offer of money for the shares, or was given money when they were compulsorily purchased.

You'll need to confirm whether the certificates relate to that company, and whether he got a payout when the company was sold. The company still seems to exist as a holding company.

Edit to add: When the original privatisation happened retail investors were allowed to pay for the shares in installments. After each of the first and second installments were paid an 'interim' certificate was issued, and on payment of the last installment a final certificate was issued. If the two certificates you have are 'interim' then AFAIK they would have been cancelled when the next installment was due/paid and have no financial value, save as what a collector of defunct share certificates might pay to add them to their collection.

MyRealNameToo

Company number is always a much safer thing to go by than the name

YEG PLC was bought out in 1997, shareholders were given 935p per share

RBS bought Natwest's registrar business before buying the whole of natwest. Post 2008 the group changed its name from RBS to Natwest. The group got rid of its registrar business with most of it going to Computershare

You could write to Computershare to see if there is an unclaimed allocation

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092579#Comment_82092579

Even if the money went unclaimed it’ll be far too late: the takeover was 29 years ago and you usually only have up to ten years to claim.
I’d wager this is just another case of someone not destroying their share certificate after they’d been paid out and it became defunct.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092676#Comment_82092676

I’d wager this is just another case of someone not destroying their share certificate after they’d been paid out and it became defunct.

Wouldn't the original final certificate have to be returned as part of the purchase, unless declared lost/destroyed?

When my REC was taken over I had to do an indemnity as I didn't have the certificate available to return to whoever it was handling the deal. Hence me wondering if these are interim certificates the OP has. The same conclusion though - defunct certificates that weren't destroyed when they should have been.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092676#Comment_82092676

I disagree, there is no statute of limitation on these sorts of claims, the monies not claimed had to be put in trust and as its not an ordinary debt that doesnt expire.

After 12 years it can be transferred to Courts Fund Office, but doesnt have to be. If it stays with the firm it has to stay there until claimed and they must not destroy the paperwork associated with it. If its transferred to the courts then the Finance Act 2023 bites as it introduced a 30 year limit that the Courts Fund Office will hold any unclaimed monies from the date they received it, after that it then goes to the exchequer

So either way, if monies were unclaimed they would still exist and if they have been transfered to the courts then 2039 is the earliest the government could claim them as their own.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092747#Comment_82092747

With compulsory purchases you don't usually need to return the certificate but it depends: the recent Royal Mail compulsory purchase does appears to be an exception and shareholders who don't tender their shares simply remain shareholders.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82092750#Comment_82092750

You need to look at the company's articles of association. There's usually a section named along the lines of, 'untraced shareholders' and, 'unclaimed distributions' and it'll tell you how long you have to claim before you forfeit your holdings, dividends and other distributions if the company or its registrar cannot trace you.