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, or Computershare.
Many investors panic, thinking this is spam or a scam. It isn’t. These companies are the “keepers of the list” for the UK stock market.
What is a Share Registrar? Think of a Registrar like the Land Registry, but for companies.
- The Company (e.g., Shell, Tesco): Focuses on selling oil or groceries. They do not want to manage the paperwork for millions of shareholders.
- The Registrar: Is hired by the company to maintain the legal register of who owns the shares.
The “Big 3” in the UK Almost every major UK listed company uses one of these three firms. If you need to change your address, report a death, or find a lost dividend, you must contact them, not the company itself.
1. Equiniti (EQ)
- Who they manage: Often handles older, “legacy” British institutions and former privatisation stocks.
- Big Clients: Lloyds Banking Group, BT Group, Centrica (British Gas), Santander (UK holders).
- Key Portal: Shareview
2. Computershare
- Who they manage: A global giant that handles many large multinational firms listed in London.
- Big Clients: BP, Aviva, Legal & General, Sainsbury’s.
- Key Portal: Investor Centre
3. Link Group (formerly Capita)
- Who they manage: A wide mix of retail and investment companies.
- Big Clients: National Grid, Vodafone (certain services), many Investment Trusts.
- Key Portal: Signal Shares
Why You Can’t Call the Company Directly If you call the Tesco Head Office to ask about a lost dividend cheque, they physically cannot help you. They do not have access to the shareholder database—Computershare does.
How Divica Helps You don’t need to memorize which registrar handles which company (they change contracts frequently!). Simply type the company name into Divica, and we will instantly tell you:
Direct links to their claim forms.
Which Registrar currently holds the register.
The specific phone number for that company’s team.