Windfall from Building Society Demutualisation

Staring with Abbey National  in 1989,  a growing number of building societies and insurers have demutualised;  issuing windfall payments to qualifying members and listing shares on the stock exchange.

Rules governing former building societies stipulate unclaimed shares may  be sold three years after flotation, however customers who can prove entitlement to windfall shares have an additional nine years to initiate a claim.

While the deadline has passed for Abbey National, qualifying customers may still claim cash windfalls from a number of other demutualisations, including Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley, Friends Provident, Halifax, Northern Rock, Norwich Union and Woolwich and Standard Life.

Qualifying customers should contact the following companies to ensure they have collected their entitlements:

• Alliance & Leicester. Converted February 1997. Entitlement: 250 shares. www.alliance-leicester-group.co.uk

• Bradford & Bingley. Converted December 2000. Entitlement: 250 shares. www.bbg.co.uk

• Friends Provident. Converted July 2001. Entitlement: minimum 200 shares. www.friendsprovident.co.uk

• Halifax. Converted June 1997, qualifying. Entitlement: minimum 200 shares www.hbosplc.com.

• Northern Rock. Converted in October 1997. Entitlement: 500 shares. www.northernrock.co.uk

• Norwich Union. Converted in June 1997. Entitlement: minimum 150 shares www.aviva.com

• Woolwich. Converted in June 1997. Entitlement: minimum 450 shares. Contact 0870 429 2432