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The Swanage Railway has been engaged in a process of considering an extensive review of its Governance with the eventual aim of merging the charitable Swanage Railway Trust into the Swanage Railway Company and creating the Company as a charity in its own right. This will allow the new charitable company to become a more finanically efficient organisation and with streamlined governance and control.
The Swanage Railway is not alone in seeking to enhance its governance - many other heritage railways are now working to similar aims. We hope that the end results will provide for a more sustainable railway and a long term future.
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SRC Shareholding - Non-Voting shares
The Swanage Railway Company is a company limited by shares - with the majority of shares held by the Swanage Railway Trust and some 3% overall holding held by a number of individual shareholders. Individual shares are non-voting shares - shares held by the Swanage Railway Trust are voting shares and may be used to vote on resolutions etc.
Shares were offered as a means of financially supporting the railway some 30 plus years ago. Since then, changes to charitable giving have meant that donations to the charitable Trust attract Gift Aid resulting in a 20% uplift. The Company has not now issued any new shares in over 25 years. Shares have no commercial value and are not publicly traded. Some have been transferred between holders but this has been on a small scale.
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In order to enhance the restructuring, the Company is now inviting its individual shareholders with non-voting shares to consider selling their shares back to the Company at a standard 'par' rate of £1 per share or to consider donating their shares to the Swanage Railway Trust.
A letter is now being sent to all current individual shareholders to ask them to consider options. Click the images (right) or the link below to download a copy of the letter.
Letter to individual Shareholders - February 2025
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SRC Shareholding - Non-Contactable shareholders
Shares were offered as a means of financially supporting the railway some 30 plus years ago. Since then, changes to charitable giving have meant that donations to the charitable Trust attract Gift Aid resulting in a 20% uplift. The Company has not now issued any new shares in over 25 years. Shares have no commercial value and are not publicly traded. Some have been transferred between holders but this has been on a small scale.
However, over the past years it has become apparent that a number of original shareholders are no longer contactable. Sadly, we have been advised that a number have died. In other cases, mailings to last known addresses are returned marked 'Gone Away', 'Not Known at this address' etc.
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In order to progress restructuring of the Company there is now a need to undertake reasonable endeavours to make contact with all shareholders or their beneficiaries. We are aware that some shares have been transferred as a result of probate but it is apparent that, in many cases, shares in the railway with no obvious value were overlooked when estates were wound up. In other cases, shareholders may have moved without leaving or advising a new address.
A list of those for whom we have lost contact can be downloaded by clicking the image (above right) or the link below. The list indicates names together with last known location area. This list will be added as an insert to the next issue of Swanage Railway Magazine.
We are now asking anyone who may have any contact details for non-contactable shareholders or their probate beneficiaries to contact Peter Milford, Company Secretary, so that records may be updated. If we are unable to update records then it may become necessary to undertake processes to cancel shares of those who are un-traceable.
Non-Contactable Shareholders - February 2025
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