Dividends

**NEW** You can now have your dividends paid straight to your bank account.

The table below outlines dividend payments paid to shareholders since privatisation:

Dividend Payments: Interim - February; Final - August

Enquiring about your shareholding

If you want to ask, or need any information, about your shareholding, please contact the company's registrar:

Equiniti Limited
Aspect House
Spencer House
Lancing
West Sussex
BN99 6DA

Tel: 0871 384 2041

Or textphone for shareholders with hearing difficulties: 0871 384 2255 #

The registrar has also introduced a service to provide shareholders with on-line internet access to details of their shareholdings. The service is secure - data transferred to you is encrypted and you have a personal user ID and PIN; free - as long as you have a computer and access to the internet; and easy to use - you just need your user ID and PIN to log on.

To register for the service, please go to www.shareview.co.uk - you will need your shareholder account number (which can be found on the proxy form accompanying the notice of annual general meeting or your share certificate) and you will be asked to select your own PIN. A user ID will then be posted to you. You can also find on this web site more details of the service and practical help and extensive information on other share registration topics.

If you have received more than one copy of this annual report, you may have more than one account in your name on the register of members. To merge your holdings, please write to the registrar giving details of the accounts concerned and how you want them to be merged.

www.shareview.co.uk

Paying your dividends direct to your account

The company pays dividends direct to a shareholder's bank or building society account through the BACs (Bankers' Automated Clearing Service) system. The benefit to shareholders is that the company can send tax vouchers direct to them rather than to their bank or building society. If you have not already arranged for your dividends to be paid direct to your bank or building society account and you want to do so, please use this form.

Privatisation

Shareholders paid £2.40 per share, in three instalments: 100p per share on 6 December 1989, 70p on 31 July 1990, and 70p on 30 July 1991. First day of dealing of fully paid shares was 12 December 1989 when the share price closed at 275p.

Rights Issue November 1995 re acquisition of Norweb plc

Shareholders paid 525p per share in two instalments:- 130p on 9 October 1995; and the second instalment of  395p per share on 23 November 1995, having become due on 8 November 1995 when the offer for Norweb became unconditional. The UUPLC closing price on 8 November 1995 was 585p per ordinary share. First day of trading of fully paid ordinary shares acquired as a result of the rights issue was 24 November 1995, when the share price closed at 603p.

Rights issue 2003-2005

Cost of an A share in the two stage rights issue was £3.30, payable in two equal instalments of £1.65 in September 2003 and £1.65 in June 2005.  Total cost per A share was £3.30, and two A shares converted into one ordinary share.
 
A shares commenced trading fully-paid on 18 September 2003:
A shares: 280 pence
Ordinary shares: 470.75 pence
(NB A shares did trade nil-paid from 27 August 2003)
 
Closing price on 7 July 2005 (first day of trading of A shares converted into fully paid ordinary shares) was 649p.

1995 Rights Issue shares cost £5.25 (£1.30 then £3.95) 2003 Rights Issue A shares cost £3.30 (£1.65 Sept 03 then £1.65 June 05).