Hammerson plc (the "Company")
Dividend Declaration
25
July 2024
The Board of Directors of the
Company has declared an interim dividend of 0.756 pence per
ordinary share ("Share")
for the period ending 31 December 2024 (the "Interim 2024 Dividend"). The Interim
2024 Dividend is payable on Monday, 30 September 2024 to
shareholders on the register at the close of business on Friday, 23
August 2024.
The Interim 2024 Dividend will be
paid as a Property Income Distribution ("PID"), net of withholding tax where
appropriate.
The Company will not be offering a
scrip dividend alternative but, for shareholders who wish to
receive their dividend in the form of Shares, the Dividend
Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP")
will be available. The terms and conditions of the DRIP can be
found at www.signalshares.com.
Shareholders registered on the South African
Branch Register should contact their CSDP or Broker for further
information.
Expected Timetable of Events
The expected timetable for the
payment of the Interim 2024 Dividend is set out below.
|
|
2024
|
1. Currency conversion
date
|
UK &
SA
|
Tuesday,
13 August
|
2. Currency conversion
announcement released by 9.00 a.m. (UK Time) / 11.00 a.m. (SA
time)
|
UK &
SA
|
Wednesday,
14 August
|
3. Last day to effect
removal of shares between the United Kingdom ("UK") and South African ("SA") Registers
|
UK &
SA
|
Tuesday,
20 August
|
4. Last day to trade on the JSE to qualify for the
dividend
|
SA
|
Tuesday,
20 August
|
5. Shares become
"ex-dividend" on the JSE at the commencement of trading
|
SA
|
Wednesday,
21 August
|
6. Last day to trade on
the LSE and on Euronext Dublin to qualify for the
dividend
|
UK
|
Wednesday,
21 August
|
7. Shares become
"ex-dividend" on the LSE and on Euronext Dublin at the commencement
of trading
|
UK
|
Thursday,
22 August
|
8. Record
date
|
UK &
SA
|
Friday, 23
August
|
9. Date on which removal
of shares between the UK and SA registers becomes
permissible
|
UK &
SA
|
Tuesday,
27 August
|
10. Last day
for receipt of DRIP mandates by SA Transfer
Secretaries
|
SA
|
Monday, 9
September
|
11. Last day
for receipt of DRIP elections by UK Registrars
|
UK
|
Monday, 9
September
|
12. Interim 2024 Dividend Payment
Date
|
UK &
SA
|
Monday, 30
September
|
13. DRIP purchases settlement date
(subject to market conditions and the purchase of shares in the
open market)
|
UK
|
Wednesday,
2 October
|
14. DRIP purchases settlement date
SA (subject to market conditions and the purchase of shares in the
open market)
|
SA
|
Monday, 14
October
|
15. Results
of Dividend Reinvestment Plan Announcement
|
UK &
SA
|
Monday, 14
October
|
Intention to cease future dividend payments by
cheque
The Company intends to cease issuing
cheques for dividend payments with effect from any interim dividend
declared in H2 2025.
Cheques will be issued for the
Interim 2024 Dividend and for the final dividend for the year
ending 31 December 2024 (to the extent that a final dividend is
recommended by the Board and approved by Shareholders). All
subsequent dividend payments will be paid electronically by bank
transfer only.
As part of this process,
shareholders are required to register their bank account details
with the Company's Registrar, Link Group, either via the Signal
Shares portal (www.signalshares.com),
or via one of the other methods as detailed under section 3 of the
Chequeless Dividend Q&A, available on the Company's website
at www.hammerson.com/investors/dividend.
Notes:
1. The removal of shares to
and from the UK principal register and the SA branch register will
not be permitted between Wednesday, 21
August 2024 to Friday, 23 August 2024, both dates
inclusive.
2. Shareholders registered on the SA
branch register should note that, in accordance with the
requirements of Strate, no dematerialisation or rematerialisation
of shares will be possible from Wednesday, 21 August 2024 to Friday, 23 August 2024, both dates
inclusive.
3. The Interim 2024 Dividend should
be regarded as a 'foreign dividend' for SA income tax and dividends
tax purposes.
4. Shareholders
registered on the SA branch register will be paid in SA
Rand.
5. SA dividends tax, at the
rate of 20% will apply to cash PIDs and dividends payable by the
Company unless the beneficial owner of the dividend is exempt from
SA dividends tax (e.g. if it is a South African resident company).
Under the double tax agreement between the UK and SA, the maximum
tax payable in the UK is 15%. South African resident shareholders
are therefore entitled to claim the excess of 5% from HM Revenue
and Customs ("HMRC"). As SA
shareholders are entitled to reclaim this excess from HMRC, the
maximum rebate allowable in respect of the UK withholding tax
against the SA dividends tax is 15%, which means that the Company
will have to withhold a further 5% from the dividend in South
Africa to bring the total dividends tax to 20%. In summary,
therefore, 20% will be withheld in the UK, a further 5% will be
withheld in SA (where appropriate), but South African resident
shareholders will be entitled to claim back 5% from HMRC, which
will bring the overall total to 20%.
6. Those shareholders who hold their shares on the UK principal
register and already participate in the DRIP need not complete a
DRIP mandate form for each dividend as such forms provide an
ongoing authority to participate in the DRIP until cancelled in
writing or online at www.signalshares.com.
If you are unsure whether you have submitted a DRIP election you
can check your account online at: www.signalshares.com.
Alternatively, you can contact the UK Registrar, Link Group,
by email at shares@linkgroup.co.uk
or by phone on 0371 664 0381 or +44 (0) 371 664
0381 from overseas. Calls are charged at the standard geographic
rate and will vary by provider. Calls from outside the UK will be
charged at the applicable international rate. Lines are open
between 9:00 am and 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday excluding public
holidays in England and Wales.
7. Shareholders on the UK
principal register who wish to participate in the DRIP should
complete an application form online at: www.signalshares.com.
8. Shareholders registered on
the SA branch register who hold their shares through the Strate
system and who wish to participate in the DRIP should contact their
CSDP or Broker.
9. As at Wednesday, 24 July
2024, being the declaration date of the Interim 2024 Dividend, the
Company had a total of 5,002,265,607 ordinary shares in issue, with
13,008,260 of those ordinary shares held in Treasury.
10. The dates above are subject to
change. Any changes made will be communicated as soon as
practicably possible.
11. The Board retains the discretion
to withdraw or modify the terms of the Interim 2024 Dividend at any
time, because there are certain situations in which the Board may
decide that it is no longer appropriate to pay the Interim 2024
Dividend, or it may not be permissible for the Company to do
so.
12. If the proposed share
consolidation (referred to in the Company's announcement on 22 July
2024) is implemented before the Interim 2024 Dividend is payable on
Monday 30 September 2024, the amount per ordinary share of the 2024
Interim Dividend will be adjusted proportionately (subject to
adjustments for fractional entitlements) to reflect the reduced
number of ordinary shares in issue following the share
consolidation.
For further information
contact:
Richard Crowle
Senior Assistant Company
Secretary
Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 1000
The
announcement above has also been released on the SENS system of the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange and on Euronext
Dublin.