Shareholder FAQs

You may at some point wish to transfer some or all of your shares to someone else (for example your partner or other member of your family). To do this, you will need to complete a share transfer form, which you can do by accessing shareview. If you require any further assistance, please contact Equiniti.

This is dependent on the nature of the share transfer. Guidelines about stamp duty are set out on the reverse of the share transfer form. If you require any further assistance contact Equiniti.

A declaration concerning the application of stamp duty on the share transfer is set out on the reverse of the share transfer form and should be completed and signed by you before you return the form to Equiniti.

You can buy shares in your children's names but there may be legal complications when you come to sell the shares. Equiniti can give you more information.

If you lose your share certificate, or it has been stolen, you should inform Equiniti immediately. You can do this by calling the Centrica shareholder helpline on +44 (0)371 3842985*. A record of the lost share certificate will be made to prevent it being used and a letter of indemnity will be sent to you to sign. This is to protect Centrica from the possible misuse of your certificate while it is not in your possession. A replacement share certificate will then be sent to you. There is a charge for this service, so we advise you to keep your share certificate in a safe and secure place.

*Calls to an 03 number cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number. Lines open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday (UK time), excluding public holidays in England and Wales.

Please note that from July 2023 we no longer pay dividends by cheque. Dividends are paid directly into shareholders’ bank or building society accounts.

To have your dividend payments paid directly into your bank account or building society account, please access shareview to complete, date and sign the mandate form.

Should you have any queries about the value of the dividend due to you, please contact Equiniti who can advise further.

Yes, by accessing shareview to complete, date and sign the mandate form.

You will receive no concurrent postal notification of your dividend payments from Centrica. Instead, you will receive a personalised consolidated dividend confirmation, detailing all the dividend payments in the relevant tax year. These are mailed to you at the end of March each year, in time for you to complete your tax return.

View dividend payment dates.

Please note that from July 2023 we no longer pay dividends by cheque. Dividends are paid directly into shareholders’ bank or building society accounts.

To have your dividend payments paid directly into your bank account or building society account, please access shareview to complete, date and sign the mandate form.

Should you have any queries about the value of the dividend due to you, please contact Equiniti who can advise further.

Please contact Equiniti at the earliest opportunity and they will assist you with the documentation required. This may involve the small estates procedure or require a Grant of Probate and they will be able to make the process as straightforward as possible for you. 

View explanation of small estates procedure.

This may mean that you have shares registered in two accounts with slightly different details. Sometimes, if shares are purchased at different times, the registration details given to Equiniti might differ slightly on each occasion (e.g. Mr Paul A. Smith or Mr Paul Smith). This can result in our registrar opening two shareholder accounts.

This in turn leads to a duplication of shareholder communications.

If your shareholding is duplicated in this way, please contact the Equiniti helpline on 0371 384 2985 or access Shareview to combine your accounts.

If you would like to receive shareholder communications in alternative formats (large print, braille or audio tape), please register your name and address, shareholder account number and preferred format with Equiniti.

Some high street banks provide facilities for buying and selling shares or you can contact a stockbroker. Alternatively, Centrica has made arrangements with two independent share-dealing providers to offer all shareholders competitive charges. Please see the share dealing facilities section of our website for more details.

You should notify Equiniti of your change of address which you can do by either accessing Shareview or contacting the Equiniti helpline on 0371 384 2985.

If you hold shares in joint names, the request to change the address must be signed by the first-named shareholder. You can determine this from your share certificate or tax confirmation or by looking up your shareholding on the Shareview service.

To ensure the details of your shareholding are correct on the register you should notify Equiniti in writing of any change to your name. You should also include a copy of your marriage certificate or change of name deed as evidence of your name change. If you need uncashed dividend cheques to be reissued in your new name, please also include them in your envelope.

On 30 July 2019, Centrica announced that it was terminating its Scrip Dividend Programme (the Programme) with effect from the 2019 interim dividend payable on 21 November 2019.  As a consequence, shareholders who had elected to join the Programme will now and in future receive their dividends as cash instead of shares.  Dividends will be paid to shareholders by cheque, or - where bank accounts details are held by the share registrar, Equiniti – by bank transfer.  Shareholders are encouraged to contact Equiniti to check their bank account details are up to date.

Find further information regarding the termination of the Scrip Dividend Programme.

NOTICE TO FORMER SHAREHOLDERS OF VENTURE PRODUCTION LIMITED (SC169182) (NOW CENTRICA PRODUCTION LIMITED) IN RECEIPT OF A LETTER REGARDING SHAREHOLDER FUNDS

Former shareholders of Centrica Production Limited (previously known as Venture Production Limited) who are in receipt of a letter from Centrica Production Limited regarding treatment of shareholder funds are encouraged to provide their response by contacting Centrica’s Group Secretariat Department by email (Shareholders@centrica.com) or by calling the telephone number stated in the letter.

In collaboration with the London Stock Exchange, we establish a specific date before each dividend announcement. This date determines when any of our shares sold without the entitlement to the dividend. This is known as the 'ex-dividend' date. Prior to this date, the shares are considered 'cum dividend'.

If you purchase shares before this ex-dividend date, you become eligible to receive the recently declared dividend. However, if you acquire the shares on the ex-dividend date or any time after, the previously announced dividend will go to the last owner.

The dividend payment is made to shareholders based on the quantity of shares they own, as recorded in the share register at a set deadline, referred to as the 'record date'. This record date is the day following the ex-dividend date due to the T+2 settlement rule (Trade Date plus two business days) for both ADS holders and regular shareholders.

If you've recently sold your shares and received a dividend, but you're uncertain about your entitlement to it, it's advised to reach out to the agent who facilitated your sale. Depending on the sale agreement, the dividend might actually belong to the new owner.