Hammerson plc (the "Company")
Dividend Currency Conversion Announcement
25
March 2024
On 29 February 2024, the Company
announced that the Board of Directors had recommended a final cash
dividend of 0.78p per ordinary share ("Share") for the period ended 31
December 2023 (the "Final 2023
Dividend"), subject to approval by the shareholders of the
Company at the 2024 Annual General Meeting.
The Final 2023 Dividend will be paid
as a non-Property Income Distribution ("non-PID"), and treated as an ordinary
UK company dividend.
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.
Subject to approval by shareholders,
the Final 2023 Dividend is payable on Friday, 10 May 2024 to
shareholders registered on the UK principal register ("UK Shareholders") and the South African
branch register ("SA
Shareholders") who have elected to receive the dividend in
cash. The Record Date for both UK Shareholders and SA Shareholders
is at the close of business on Friday, 5 April 2024. The DRIP
purchases settlement date (subject to market conditions and the
purchase of shares in the open market) is expected to be Tuesday,
14 May 2024 in the UK and Friday, 24 May 2024 in South
Africa.
The Final 2023 Dividend should be
regarded as a 'foreign dividend' for SA income tax and dividends
tax purposes and the funds will be paid from the United
Kingdom.
Shareholders receiving the Final 2023 Dividend in
cash
The Company confirms that the South
African Rand exchange rate for the Final 2023 Dividend will be ZAR
23.9233 to GBP 1. The currency conversion date was 22 March 2024.
The Final 2023 Dividend is payable in South African Rand to SA
Shareholders. Shareholders who do not elect the DRIP will be paid
as follows:
Non-PID*
|
UK
Shareholders
(GBP pence)
|
SA
Shareholders
(ZAR cents)
|
Gross amount of non-PID
|
0.78
|
18.66017
|
Less 20% SA dividends tax (where
applicable)
|
n/a
|
3.73203
|
Net non-PID payable*
|
0.78
|
14.92814
|
* Non-PID - taxed as a normal
dividend
Cash non-PIDs
SA dividends tax at the rate of 20%
will apply to cash non-PIDs paid by the Company, unless the
beneficial owner of the Dividend is exempt from SA dividends tax
(e.g. if the beneficial owner is a South African company or a
non-South African resident). Since no withholding tax is suffered
in the UK on cash non-PIDs, no rebate can be claimed. The
relevant regulated intermediary (being the SA transfer secretaries
or other CSDP, broker or institution, as applicable) will therefore
be required to deduct 20% tax on all cash non-PID's paid to persons
who are not exempt from SA dividends tax, and pay this to the South
African Revenue Service.
Shareholders electing the DRIP
Partial elections are not permitted
under the DRIP.
SA Shareholders electing the DRIP
should note that, in respect of fractional entitlements that may
arise, all allocations of shares will be rounded down to the
nearest whole number, and any residual amounts that are not used to
reinvest in shares (as a result of rounding down) will be paid out
to these SA Shareholders in cash.
It is the Company's understanding
that the residual cash paid to SA Shareholders who have made DRIP
elections would already have been taxed prior to the calculation of
the number of shares and any residual cash owing to such SA
Shareholders. Accordingly, no further tax should be payable
on the cash paid to SA Shareholders as a result of any fractional
entitlements.
The above information and the
guidelines on the taxation of dividends are provided as a general
guide based on the Company's understanding of the law and practice
currently in place. Any shareholder who is in any doubt as to their
tax position should seek independent professional
advice.
Registered Office
|
UK
Registrars
|
SA
Transfer Secretaries
|
Marble Arch House
66 Seymour Street
London
W1H 5BX
United Kingdom
|
Link Group
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 4DL
|
Computershare Investor
Services Proprietary
Limited
(Registration number
2004/003647/07)
1st Floor, Rosebank
Towers
15 Biermann Avenue,
Rosebank, 2196
South Africa
(Private Bag, X9000, Saxonwold 2132
South Africa)
|
For further information
contact:
Josh Warren
Director of Strategy, Commercial
Finance and Investor Relations
Tel: +44 20 7887 1053
josh.warren@hammerson.com
Richard Crowle
Senior Assistant Company
Secretary
Tel: +44 20 7887 1000
Richard.crowle@hammerson.com
The announcement above has
also been released on the SENS system of the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange and on Euronext Dublin.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not
intended to, and does not constitute or form part of any offer to
sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase,
subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities of the Company,
whether pursuant to this announcement or
otherwise.