Hammerson plc (the "Company")
Dividend Currency Conversion Announcement
17 March 2026
On 25 February 2026, the Company announced that the Board of Directors had recommended a final dividend of 8.56p per ordinary share ("Share") for the period ended 31 December 2025 (the "Final 2025 Dividend"), subject to approval by the shareholders of the Company at the 2026 Annual General Meeting.
The Final 2025 Dividend will be wholly paid as a Property Income Distribution ("PID"), and will be subject to a 20% UK withholding tax unless exemptions apply.
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 https://uk.investorcentre.mpms.mufg.com/Login/Login. Shareholders registered on the South African Branch Register should contact their Central Securities Depository Participant ("CSDP") or Broker for further information. The deadline for the receipt of DRIP elections is Thursday, 16 April 2026.
Subject to approval by shareholders, the Final 2025 Dividend is payable on Friday, 8 May 2026 to shareholders registered on the UK register ("UK Shareholders") and the South African 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, 27 March 2026. The DRIP purchases settlement date (subject to market conditions and the purchase of shares in the open market) is expected to be Tuesday, 12 May 2026 in the UK and Tuesday, 26 May 2026 in South Africa.
The Final 2025 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 2025 Dividend in cash
The Company confirms that the South African Rand exchange rate for the Final 2025 Dividend will be ZAR 22.3140 to GBP 1. The currency conversion date was Monday, 16 March 2026. The Final 2025 Dividend is payable in South African Rand to SA Shareholders. Shareholders who do not elect the DRIP will be paid as follows:
|
PID* |
UK Shareholders (GBP pence) |
SA Shareholders (ZAR cents) |
|
Gross amount of PID |
8.56 |
191.00784 |
|
Less 20% UK withholding tax/20% SA dividends tax (where applicable) |
1.712 |
38.20157 |
|
Net PID dividend payable* |
6.848 |
152.80627 |
|
Less 5% SA Shareholders excess reclaim |
N/A |
9.55039 |
|
Net PID dividend payable** |
N/A |
143.25588 |
*Net position after SA Shareholders have claimed back 5% from HMRC under the double tax agreement between the United Kingdom and South Africa.
** Before SA shareholders have claimed back 5% from HMRC under the double tax agreement between the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Cash PIDs
The information below is intended as a general guide only and is based on the Company's understanding of the law and practice currently in force. Any shareholder who is in any doubt as to their tax position should seek independent professional advice.
A 20% UK withholding tax is applicable to the Final 2025 Dividend as it will be paid as a PID (where appropriate). After payment of the PID South African shareholders may apply to HMRC for a refund of the difference between the 20% UK withholding tax and the UK/South African Double Tax Treaty rate of 15%, i.e. 5% of the tax withheld.
The Final 2025 cash dividend will be exempt from SA income tax but it will be subject to SA dividends tax as it will be declared in respect of a share listed on the exchange operated by the JSE Limited. SA dividends tax will apply to the Final 2025 cash dividend, at a rate of 20%, unless the beneficial owner of the dividend is exempt from SA dividends tax or qualifies for a reduction of the SA dividends tax liability to 5% (if they can claim a credit for the effective 15% UK withholding tax suffered against the 20% SA dividends tax rate). The applicability of the exemption or reduced rate will be subject to the prescribed requirements for effecting the exemption or reduction being in place by the requisite date.
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 |
MUFG Corporate Markets 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 Group Performance and Investor Relations
Tel: +44 20 7887 1053
Richard Crowle
Deputy Company Secretary
Tel: +44 20 7887 1000
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.
The announcement above has also been released on the SENS system of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and on Euronext Dublin.