24. Share capital
2012 2011
Shares £’000 Shares £’000
Authorised:
Ordinary shares of 0.2p each 500,000,000 1,000 500,000,000 1,000
issued and fully paid:
At 1st January and 31st December 104,158,950 208 104,158,950 208
25. Reserves
Share premium
The amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value less any costs attributable to the issue of new shares.
Share-based payment reserve
The share-based payment reserve is used to record the value of equity-settled share-based payment provided to the employees, as part of their
remuneration. Note 12 gives further details of these plans.
Treasury shares
Treasury shares represent the cost of Ordinary Shares purchased in the market and held by the Trust to satisfy future exercise of options under the
Group’s share options schemes. At 31st December 2012 the Group held 1,246,288 (2011: 1,269,389) of its own shares at an average cost of £2.16
(2011: £2.28). The market value of the shares at 31st December 2012 was £3,228,000 (31st December 2011: £2,843,000). The nominal value of each
share is 0.2p.
Fair value reserve
The fair value reserve is used to record the changes in fair value of financial assets held for sale. Note 16 gives further details of the movement in the
current year.
26. Pension costs and commitments
The Group operates defined contribution pension schemes for its Executive Directors and certain employees. The assets of the schemes are held
separately from those of the Group in independently administered funds.
Total contributions to the defined contribution schemes in the year were £1,900,000 (2011: £2,100,000). There was an outstanding amount of
£255,000 in respect of pensions as at 31st December 2012 (2011: £293,000).
Financial Statements
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