Eastern Electricity

Steve_RW

Hi MSEs,

In 1993 I went to work abroad. My belongings, including valuable financial records, were distributed hurriedly – my Ex took some, some went into storage, etc.
Although I knew I had bought shares in companies (as long term savings), I was not able to find the certificates until last year.

I have tracked down most of the money owed to me but one company has so far created more and more problems the deeper I dig: Eastern Electricity.

I bought 110 shares in Eastern Electricity – and found a certificate for 100.
After much searching I discovered that Eastern Electricity had been through a myriad name changes – many as part of a long sequence of company acquisitions. To the best of my knowledge the sequence is:

Eastern Electricity Limited
Eastern Group plc
EPN Distribution plc
EDF Energy Networks (EPN) plc
Hanson plc
Hanson Building Materials Limited.

I also know that Texas Utilities (TXU) bought a majority of shares (at some point in the above history) and renamed the business TXU UK – though this does not appear to have been a full takeover.

In that time the Registrar had also changed. I tracked down the 2007 Registrar (in that year), Lloyds TSB, and wrote to them.

They said that all outstanding money owed to me could be paid – providing I returned my share certificate. This I did, by registered post. Shortly after this my PC suffered a hard disc crash and I forgot all about Eastern Electricity.

Then a letter arrived in April 2008 from a new Registrar, Equiniti. Saying I had not claimed my entitlement regarding Hanson's acquisition of EDF Energy Networks (EPN) plc. In that letter they said that if I wished to claim I should know that I will shortly have to go to the Court Funds Office.

To cut a long story short: Apparently there is a new law. Any money generated by a shareholding will be held in trust by this government office until claimed – if it has been left unclaimed for 15 years.

When I called Equiniti I was assured that I would not lose any money just because I now had to claim it through the Court Funds Office. However, it was only during a second call that I discovered dividends still need to be claimed via the traditional Registrar route.

In addition, Equiniti have my share certificate and have said that I did not receive any money last year because the certificate for the other 10 shares was still missing. That certificate still needs to be re-issued before I can get my money.

Finally, although I responded immediately Equiniti and their Court Funds agents (Earnst & Young) have both called me to say that the process of transfer of the Shareholders Register to the Courts Funds Office mean that they cannot act and I will have to wait until after Court Lodgement (27th June).

Bureaucratic nightmare aside, I have the following questions:
- 1 -
Given that Equiniti were wrong about my not losing out over dividends (if I had not asked the right questions I would have missed out on dividends); Are they right, will I not lose a penny of acquisition funds? I am concerned that the Court Funds Office will only have information on the Hanson acquisition. But what, for example, of EPNs acquisition of Eastern Group plc?

- 1a -
... and actually, have I asked all the right questions about dividends?

- 2 -
How do I find out about the true history of Eastern (etc.)?

- 3 -
How do I get financial and legal advice that will not swallow all the money (and more) that I may be owed?

- 4 -
What will happen over the lost share certificate?

- 5 -
Do I really have to wait?

- 6 -
Are there any other forms of payments made to shareholders that I might miss?

- 7 -
Okay, the list of questions is obviously pretty long. The above are the real big ones.

I would be most grateful for any help that anyone here can give.

chris1

Apparently anyone who had not sold their Eastern Electricity (which had been renamed Eastern Group plc) shares by October 1995 had a forced sale to Hanson plc at £9.75.

Steve_RW

Hi Chris, Thank you for your input.