| Non-equity | Equity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special share of £1 |
Preference shares of £1 each |
Nominal value £m |
Ordinary shares of 20p each |
Nominal value £m |
||
| Authorised | ||||||
| At January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006 | 1 | 50,000 | — | 2,499,999,998 | 500 | |
| Issued and fully paid | ||||||
| At January 1, 2005 | 1 | — | — | 1,704,772,288 | 341 | |
| Exercise of share options | — | — | — | 19,174,767 | 4 | |
| B Share conversion into ordinary shares | — | — | — | 34,754,246 | 7 | |
| At January 1, 2006 | 1 | — | — | 1,758,701,301 | 352 | |
| Exercise of share options | — | — | — | 8,091,614 | 1 | |
| B Share conversion into ordinary shares | — | — | — | 14,512,070 | 3 | |
| At December 31, 2006 | 1 | — | — | 1,781,304,985 | 356 | |
Certain rights, set out in the Company's Articles of Association, attach to the special rights redeemable preference share (special share) issued to HM Government. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act 1985, the special share may be redeemed by the Treasury Solicitor at par at any time. The special share confers no rights to dividends or to vote at general meetings but in the event of a winding-up it shall be repaid at its nominal value in priority to any other shares.
In accordance with FRS 25, the Company's non-cumulative redeemable convertible preference shares (B Shares) are classified as financial liabilities. Accordingly, movements in B Shares are included in note 4.