Resources – Divica

Can’t Sell Your TUI Shares? The 2024 London Delisting Explained.

For decades, TUI (formerly Thomson Travel) was a staple of the London Stock Exchange. Many British holidaymakers bought shares to get shareholder perks or as a…
Why Do I Have “Haleon” Shares? The GSK Demerger Explained.

In July 2022, millions of UK investors opened their post to find a share certificate for a company they had never heard of: Haleon…
Scottish Power Shares: Do You Own a Piece of the Spanish Giant “Iberdrola”?

If you live in Scotland or the North of England, it is very common to find old Scottish Power plc share certificates in a family…
Helping Parents with Paper Shares: Why You Can’t Just “Add Them to Your App”.

If you are used to buying shares on Trading 212, Freetrade, or eToro, dealing with your parents’ paper share certificates can be baffling. A common question…
Introducing Divica Pro: The Ultimate Tool for Probate Practitioners.

For years, Estate Administration has been a manual, paper-heavy process. Solicitors spend countless unbillable hours Googling registrar addresses, waiting on hold, and drafting…
Inside the Divica Database: How We Map the UK’s Corporate History.

Searching for lost shares on Google is frustrating. If you type “Who is the registrar for British Gas?”, you will get millions of results…
Why We Don’t Take a Cut: The Divica Promise vs. Traditional Heir Hunters.

If you have ever received a letter saying “We have found money belonging to you,” you probably looked for the catch. Usually, the catch is…
Selling Shares for an Elderly Parent: How to Register a Power of Attorney (LPA).

When a relative loses the capacity to manage their own affairs (due to dementia or illness), you usually rely on a Lasting Power of…
Norwich Union, General Accident, or Commercial Union? How to Trace Your Aviva Shares.

If you find a share certificate in an attic branded Norwich Union or General Accident, do not throw it away. These companies no longer exist on…
The Vodafone “Verizon” Windfall: Did You Miss the 2014 Payout?

If you have held Vodafone shares since before 2014, your portfolio is likely more complicated than you realize. In February 2014, Vodafone sold its 45%…
Inheritance Tax (IHT) on Lost Shares: What Executors Need to Know.

When calculating the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT400 form), accuracy is non-negotiable. HMRC requires the “Quarter-Up” valuation method for listed…
How to Bulk-Trace Assets for Complex Estates.

Every Probate practitioner dreads the “Shoebox Client.” You are presented with a chaotic box of paperwork dating back to the 1980s: British Gas…
Estate Administration: The Hidden Cost of Chasing Registrars Manually.

In estate administration, “time” is the most dangerous overhead. Most firms charge a fixed fee or a percentage of the estate, meaning every…
A Solicitor’s Guide to Valuing FTSE 350 Shares for Probate.

For a Private Client solicitor, a shoebox full of mixed share certificates is a “loss leader.” It takes hours of billable time to:…
Is My Share Certificate Worthless? How to Check if a Company Went Bust.

Not every old share certificate is a winning lottery ticket. Sadly, companies go bust. If you hold a certificate for Woolworths, Carillion, or Thomas Cook, the…
What Do the Colours of Share Certificates Mean? (Blue vs. Red vs. Green).

You open an old envelope and find two certificates for the same company. One is blue, and one is red. Does one replace…
The “Gone Away” List: How Companies Handle Lost Investors.

Imagine a database with 100,000 names on it. Next to 5,000 of them is a red flag that says “STOP MAIL.” This is the…
How to Consolidate Multiple Shareholder Reference Numbers (SRNs).

Do you receive three different envelopes from the same company every time they send an annual report? Do you get separate dividend cheques…
Bereavement Support: How to Use the “Small Estates” Service to Avoid Probate Costs.

If you are dealing with the estate of a loved one, you probably know that for large assets (like a house), you need…
Why is the Registrar Asking for My Passport? (Anti-Money Laundering Explained).

You want to claim a few hundred pounds in lost dividends. You write to the Registrar. They write back saying: “We cannot pay you…
What is a “Dormant” Shareholding? (And How to Wake It Up).

Have you tried to cash a dividend cheque only to be told your shareholding is “Dormant”? Or perhaps you logged into a registrar…
Moving House Checklist: Don’t Forget to Update Your Shareholder Register.

When moving house, you remember to update your bank, your GP, and the DVLA. But most people forget one critical thing: their share certificates.…
Just Married or Divorced? How to Change Your Name on a Share Certificate.

If you bought shares under your maiden name but now use a married name, you might hit a wall when trying to cash…
Paper vs. Digital: How to Sell Old Share Certificates Without an App Category: Knowledge Base.

We live in a world of instant trading apps like Trading212 and eToro. But if you try to upload a photo of a…
Found an Expired Dividend Cheque? Here is How to Get it Reissued.

It is a common scenario: you are clearing out paperwork and find a dividend cheque for £50, £100, or even more. The problem?…
Rolls-Royce ‘C’ Shares: What Are They and How to Claim the Cash?

If you own shares in Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, you might have noticed something strange on your statement: a holding of “C Shares” (typically priced at 0.1p).…
Halifax and Lloyds Banking Group: Untangling the Merger History for Shareholders.

In 1997, Halifax Building Society gave free shares to millions of customers. It remains one of the largest payouts in UK history. If…
Standard Life Demutualisation: Do You Own Shares in Phoenix, abrdn, or Standard Life?

If you were a policyholder with Standard Life before 2006, you likely received “windfall shares” when the company floated on the stock market.…
Did You Invest in the 80s? How to Trace Original British Telecom (BT) Shares.

Before “Tell Sid,” there was British Telecom. In November 1984, the UK government sold off the national telephone network, and over 2 million people…
The British Gas Web: Tracing Shares in Centrica, BG Group, and Shell.

In 1986, the “Tell Sid” campaign encouraged millions of British people to buy shares in British Gas. It was the most famous privatisation in…
From Abbey National to Santander: How to Find Lost Windfall Shares.

If you had a mortgage or savings account with Abbey National in the 1980s or 90s, you likely received “windfall shares” when the building society…
Tracing Lost Assets After a Death: A Guide for Families & Executors.

Clearing out a loved one’s home is difficult enough without the added stress of financial paperwork. However, finding an old share certificate in…
Am I Owed Money? How to Check for Unclaimed Dividends and Shares.

It is estimated that over £3 billion in unclaimed shares and dividends is sitting in UK accounts waiting to be claimed. The most common reason?…
How to Trace a Company: Registrars, Libraries, and the Supreme Court.

Finding a lost share certificate is often just the start of the puzzle. If the company name on the paper no longer exists,…
The £1 Billion Windfall: Did You Miss the Demutualization Payouts?

Perhaps the largest single source of unclaimed money in the UK isn’t lost certificates, but “Windfall Shares.” Over the last few decades, many…
£3 Billion Unclaimed Shares & Dividends.

It is a staggering figure, but estimates suggest around £3 billion is currently owed to UK investors from unclaimed shares and dividends. In the chaos…
Do I Hold Shares with a Registrar or a Broker? How to Tell the Difference.

“I have shares in Barclays.” This sounds simple, but how you hold them determines entirely how you claim missing money. In the UK, there are…
Who are Equiniti, Link, and Computershare? The “Big 3” UK Registrars Explained.

If you own shares in a UK company, you have likely received a letter or email from a name you don’t recognize—like Equiniti, Link Group,…
Cadbury, Kraft, and Mondelez: How to Find “Lost” Shares from Mergers.

One of the most common reasons investors “lose” money is corporate activity. You bought shares in a famous British brand 20 years ago,…
Probate Guide: Valuing & Transferring Shares After a Death

Dealing with a share portfolio is often the slowest part of administering an estate. Unlike bank accounts, which can be closed relatively quickly,…
What Happened to My Royal Mail Shares? (A Tracing Guide)

When Royal Mail was privatised in 2013, thousands of members of the public bought shares for the first time. Many of these small…
Lost Share Certificate Indemnity: Costs & Procedures Explained.

So, you know you have the shares, but you can’t find the paper certificate. In the digital age, this feels ridiculous, but for…
The 12-Year Forfeiture Rule: Why Investors Lose Billions in Dividends.

There is a “hidden deadline” in the UK financial system that costs investors billions of pounds every year. It is not a tax,…
How to Find Lost National Grid Shares (and Unclaimed Dividends)

Did you know that National Grid is one of the most widely held shares in the UK? Because of its history (formerly British…

Financial Insights.