Welcome to our Registry Review, and thank you for taking the time to read our round-up of the last 12 months.

We’re immensely proud that you voted us as the number one registrar once again in the Capital Analytics Survey. It's particularly pleasing that so many of our valued clients would willingly recommend us to their colleagues.
 
We don’t take these scores for granted and are focused on maintaining our position at the forefront of the industry. It’s important that we continue to respond to your feedback, constantly evaluating the way in which we deliver our services. We're driven to focus on the essential elements of our service and innovate in ways that add value to you, raising the bar on service ever-higher. This review will take you through some of the activities we've undertaken over the last 12 months to achieve this objective.

Our clients are the most important part of our business, so thank you for your continued support. If you have any feedback on this review, I’d love to hear it. Please get in touch.​​

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Meet our contributors

Our team will take you through some of the new developments and initiatives that we've introduced for you. Scroll through below to meet our contributors:​


 


 

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How we support your shareholders


 
Our goal is to give your shareholders exceptional service; a service which is unsurpassed in our industry. Achieving this goal requires us to constantly focus on how we support your shareholders and seek ways to improve the service we offer to them. Continual service improvement is at the heart of our approach: ​
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    Experience enhancements

    › We've continued to cross-skill our staff, giving us greater flexibility to manage spikes in calls, improving our service and coverage › We've implemented a Deceased Estate Share Dealing service which delivers a more succinct and compassionate solution at a difficult time › A greater number of Institutions are now eligible to countersign Letters of Indemnity (LOI).

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    Ongoing investment in core infrastructure

    › We're currently piloting ‘Buzz Easy’, a system which gives your shareholders the option to request a call back and book an appointment, so our Contact Centre can get in touch at a time that's convenient for them.

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    User-led innovation

    We've made enhancements to our Investor Centre platform in response to feedback, including: › Listening to users and making appropriate changes to our virtual agent, Ask Penny, so shareholders can get the answers they need to their queries quickly › We've developed a solution to allow the payment of dividends through CREST for your Institutional holders.

​​​You can scroll through below to see some feedback from our shareholders:


Building strong relationships

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We take pride in delivering proactive, reliable Account Management

We know how important your reputation with your investors is. We start by building a strategic partnership with you, where our goals are fully aligned with your objectives.
 
Our Client Managers make it their priority to understand your business environment, your challenges (internally and externally) and your industry, so that we can deliver solutions that work for you.
 

The UK's No.1 Registrar

We’re really proud of the results we achieved in last year’s Capital Analytics Survey, marking the third year in a row we’ve come top, and the eighth time in 11 years.
 
New in the survey for 2017 was the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is an industry standard for recognising customer loyalty. Our clients gave us an ‘Overall Satisfaction’ score of +69 (13 points ahead of our nearest competitor). We also came top with our ‘Likelihood to Recommend’ NPS of +66.

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We take great pride in these ratings, as it shows our focus on putting our clients at the heart of everything we do is working well.

Our January 2018 Client Satisfaction Survey results showed even higher levels of client satisfaction than the 2017 Capital Analytics Survey. Our clients scored us 100% for overall satisfaction with our Client Account Teams and a record 97% score for proactivity, exceeding our winning score of 90% in the Capital Analytics Survey.

We’re very pleased that our market-leading reputation in the UK share registration industry is being recognised as new companies list with us for the first time. Over the last 12 months, we’ve won 39% of all IPOs – more than any other Registrar.

We started a programme of change in 2015 to review and improve everything we do. This included our products, our people, and our interactions with our clients. We won’t rest on our laurels and will continue this programme as we look to build on our success and continue to deliver even higher levels of service to you.

Thank you all for your support. 

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Corporate Actions


 

In the last year, we’ve successfully supported many of you through fundraisings, mergers or acquisitions, including a number of complex cross-border transactions.

The UK market has seen a slight increase in corporate activity. However, companies remain cautious while preparations for Brexit continue to progress, and there hasn’t been the same number of transactions of significant value as in previous years. In the short term, we expect this volatility to continue, but we'll remain on hand to support issuers with any transactions they may be considering.

In the meantime, we continue to invest in our own capability so that we can deliver future events even more successfully.​
    • ​Tullow Oil raising £600 million through a rights issue
    • £477 million acquisition of Novae Group by AXIS Capital Holdings.
  • We leveraged our global footprint to successfully deliver a number of cross-border merger and acquisition transactions:
    • £2.2 billion takeover of Berendsen by Elis SA
    • £1.6 billion merger of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate with Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc.
    • £5 billion combination of Henderson Group plc with Janus Capital Group Inc. in a complex scheme creating a specialised registry service across three jurisdictions.

     Types of transactions completed

    Transaction typeNumber of transactions completed
    Redemption51
    Conversion53
    Capital reorganisation22
    Offer for subscription/placing19
    Takeover/scheme of arrangement16
    Capital return10
    Tender offer30
    Rights issue/open offer21
    Warrant subscription20
    Escrow5
    Merger/demerger3
    Liquidation10
    Total260

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    £116.7 billion

    We issued UK stock to the value of £116.7 billion

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    $2.5 billion

    We issued US stock to the value of $2.5 billion

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    £147.4 billion and $300 million

    We received or paid out cash worth £147.4 billion Sterling and $300 million in US Dollars

We're continuously innovating to bring you the latest benefits in our industry


 
As a business, we're never satisfied with the ‘status quo’. We're continuously looking for ways to innovate in our market so we can deliver new products and services which deliver tangible benefits to you and your shareholders.
  • We have successfully migrated to The Share Centre (TSC), who has replaced TD Direct Investing (Europe) Limited as our provider for Certificated and Corporate Sponsored Nominee Dealing Services.

    TSC is one of the UK’s leading stockbrokers, regularly winning industry awards for their excellent service and innovation.

    What are the benefits for shareholders?
    • Shareholders can pre-register their holdings in advance of trading. This means holdings can be verified upfront, making the trading process quick and easy
    • Sale proceeds can now be paid directly into the shareholder's bank account rather than only having the option of being sent a cheque
    • Purchases can be funded by debit card rather than cheque only
    • Corporate holders can use the service
    • Contract notes and CREST transfers can be sent via email
    • Access to a dedicated contact centre to deliver improved levels of customer service
    • Shareholders can open up Computershare branded trading and ISA accounts.
  • A number of clients in the UK and Ireland now use our Mandatory Direct Credit service. It provides a straightforward solution to future-proof your dividend payments by paying all dividends electronically.

    Companies are doing this because:

    It saves money
    Cost saving is a major factor for most corporate companies and the adoption of Mandatory Direct Credit is an easy and effective way to ensure a dividend is paid as economically as possible. Savings are made by:
    • removing the need for cheque stationery
    • eliminating print and postage costs by sending dividend payments and dividend confirmations electronically in increasing numbers 
    • reducing print and postage costs for general shareholder mailings through the effective encouragement of electronic communications.

    It eliminates cheque fraud
    Cheque fraud is a concern for any organisation, particularly because paper cheques continue to be a target for criminals. Whilst being an inconvenience, it can also be highly distressing for those shareholders impacted. That's why electronic payment methods are becoming more popular, as funds are transferred directly to the shareholder's account without the risk of interception.
     
    It's environmentally friendly
    Removing cheques is a highly effective way to immediately reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint, as cheques no longer need to be printed or sent. The process prompts shareholders to submit their mandate details which will help to increase the number who also elect to receive electronic communications.
  • We've successfully delivered share forfeiture for a major client and are working with a number of clients on future programmes.
     
    For those shareholders who've been through a number of tracing exercises, but still cannot be located and reunited with their assets, companies now have the option to sell the shares and either:
    • distribute the sale proceeds to a charity of their choice
    • or for the company to retain the cash.
  • The adoption of virtual meetings has been slow, primarily because of uncertainty with regard to Company Law and the legality of solely electronic meetings. However, we're making progress with hybrid meetings and have provided meetings for a number of major clients both in the UK and globally.

    The benefits of a company holding a hybrid meeting include:
    • saving significant expense on the venue and travel costs – both for the company and shareholders
    • making distant shareholders feel more enfranchised, especially employees.
  • We delivered on all of the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) required changes in the last year.

    MiFID II has been one of the biggest shake-ups in the City since the Big Bang reforms of the 1980s. The rules that have come into force are aimed at making markets safer and fairer for investors. Some of these changes include:
    • the delivery of quarterly statements to all of our nominee shareholders
    • new, clearer and more concise terms and conditions for all our regulated services
    • the delivery of transaction reporting for all regulated stock movements.

Expertise, insight and influence that supports you

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We've been representing the interests of you and your shareholders
We're continuing to take an active role in a number of important industry working groups, representing the interests of both you and your shareholders. In a constantly evolving regulatory environment, it's essential to be engaged with the Government and market stakeholders on topics that could impact you in the future. 
 
Whilst this engagement is often long-term, the consequence of not investing in this important work would be a step backwards for issuers and investors. Our domestic work is supported by our Global Capital Markets experts, who are able to provide insight into market legislators using our experience and expertise in other markets.

Scroll through below to meet our experts:

 

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​​We've been involved in a number of industry topics
  • ​The Government announced their decision to “pause” work on implementing dematerialisation in the UK until 2019, after prioritising Brexit. This news is disappointing because dematerialisation has the potential to deliver long-term efficiencies for the industry, whilst also protecting issuer and shareholder rights.
     
    But there is some positive news. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has requested that work should continue in the meantime so they do not lose momentum. We'll continue to put energy and resource into this work, and we'll update the Government’s ministers on our progress.
     
    We hope that when the Government’s work resumes, we'd have completed most of the groundwork. A question still remains as to whether the UK will need to follow the EU deadline for implementing full market dematerialisation. Under the Central Securities Depository Regulations (CSDR), the deadline currently stands at 2023, but this is dependent on the country’s future relationship with the EU. We'll use our ongoing engagement with the UK Government to encourage action, particularly because we have a view on the potential long-term benefits.
  • ​During the last year, we've continued our work on the aspects of CSDR which impact issuers directly and/or us as your agent. This includes:
    • successfully implementing more frequent full securities reconciliations of shares held in the CREST system
    • obtaining over 800 Legal Entity Identifiers from you and giving these to Euroclear, representing over 4000 separate share classes within CREST
    • being selected as a Critical Service Provider by Euroclear, and we'll continue to work closely with them
    • developing new systems to improve the existing controls in relation to issuances of shares into the CREST system, and to create a compliant solution for the provision of segregated dematerialised accounts for shareholders in line with Article 38(5).
  • ​The landscape of Corporate Governance is rapidly changing as a consequence of a number of initiatives. The first of these is the imminent implementation of the amended Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD). This will see EU-wide harmonisation in many areas including:
    • vote confirmation
    • identification of beneficial holders
    • remuneration policies.
    In late 2017, we saw a consultation on the SRD member state options published by the Irish Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation (DEBI), and in April this year the publication of draft technical standards by the EU.
     
    Additionally, there are a number of recent UK specific developments including:
    • the Government’s response to their green paper, and
    • the Financial Reporting Council proposals to amend the Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes, and introduce new governance measures for private companies.
    We're continuing to participate in relevant discussions in these areas. We'll let you know if there are any implications for the services we're responsible for delivering on your behalf. 
  • ​Over the last 12 months, we've seen the introduction of several significant pieces of EU legislation including:
    • the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II)
    • the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD).
    These legislative changes have required significant investment on our behalf to make sure we understand the impact and how they might affect our systems and processes so we can remain fully compliant in the services we offer. For example, MiFID II has required us to introduce quarterly cash/asset statements for participants of regulated services and enhancements to the terms and conditions of our services making them easier for shareholders to understand.
     
    In the coming months, we'll see the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) come into force. We're making great strides to ensure we're compliant by the May 2018 deadline and we'll continue to keep you up-to-date on our progress.