Shareholder information

Information for Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shareholders

Shareholder services

The Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary share register is administered by Equiniti Limited. Enquiries concerning ordinary shareholdings in Reed Elsevier PLC and notification of change of personal details should be referred to Equiniti Limited at the address shown in Contacts.

Electronic communications

Shareholders who have not registered for electronic communications can do so online at www.shareview.co.uk, quoting their shareholder account number, which appears on their dividend tax voucher. The website also enables shareholders to view details of their own shareholding or electronically appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf on any poll that may be held at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Shareholders who hold their Reed Elsevier PLC shares through CREST may appoint proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service for the forthcoming Annual General Meeting by using the procedures described in the CREST manual.

Dividends

Dividends on Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares are declared and paid in sterling. Shareholders can arrange to have their dividends paid directly into a bank or building society account. This method of payment reduces the risk of delay or loss of dividend cheques in the post and ensures the account is credited on the dividend payment date.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

Shareholders can choose to reinvest dividends by purchasing further shares through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“DRIP”). A DRIP application form can be obtained from the Reed Elsevier PLC Registrar at www.shareview.co.uk/dividends, or by contacting Equiniti at the address shown in Contacts

ShareGift

The Orr Mackintosh Foundation operates a charity share donation scheme for shareholders with small parcels of shares whose value makes it uneconomic to sell them. Details of the scheme can be obtained from the ShareGift website at www.sharegift.org, or by telephoning ShareGift on 020 7930 3737.

Share dealing service

A telephone and internet dealing service is available through Reed Elsevier PLC’s Registrar, which provides a simple way for UK-resident shareholders to buy or sell Reed Elsevier PLC shares. For telephone dealing call 08456 037 037 between 8.00am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, and for internet dealing log on to www.shareview.co.uk/dealing. You will need your shareholder account number shown on your dividend tax voucher.

Individual savings accounts (ISA)

A single company ISA for Reed Elsevier PLC shares is available through the company’s Registrar. Details may be obtained by writing to Equiniti at the address shown in Contacts, or by calling their ISA helpline on 0845 300 0430.

Sub-division of ordinary shares and share consolidation

On 28 July 1986 each Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary share of £1 nominal value was sub-divided into four ordinary shares of 25p each. Subsequently, on 2 May 1997, the 25p ordinary shares were sub-divided into two ordinary shares of 12.5p each.

On 7 January 2008 the existing ordinary shares of 12.5p each were consolidated into new ordinary shares of 14⁵¹/₁₁₆p nominal value, on the basis of 58 new ordinary shares for every 67 existing ordinary shares held.

Capital gains tax

The mid-market price of Reed Elsevier PLC’s £1 ordinary shares on 31 March 1982 was 282p, which should be adjusted for subsequent events, in particular the four for one subdivision in 1986 and the two for one sub-division in 1997. This gives an equivalent amount of 35.25p for each 12.5p share.

The above value of 35.25p should also be adjusted for the January 2008 share consolidation, when 58 new ordinary shares were issued for every 67 existing ordinary shares held, to give an equivalent amount of 40.72p for each new ordinary share of 14⁵¹/₁₁₆p nominal value.

Unsolicited mail

Reed Elsevier PLC, along with other publicly owned companies, is legally obliged to make its share register available to anyone who requests a copy.

Shareholders may receive unsolicited mail from organisations offering their services. To limit the receipt of such unsolicited mail, shareholders should contact the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) on 0845 703 4599, or online at www.mpsonline.org.uk, or by writing to MPS for a registration form at: Mailing Preference Service, FREEPOST 29 LON20771, London W1E 0ZT.

Shareholders may still, however, receive unsolicited mail from organisations that do not subscribe to the MPS service.

Warning about unsolicited investment contacts

Shareholders may receive unsolicited phone calls or correspondence concerning investment matters. These are typically from overseas based ‘brokers’ who target UK shareholders offering to sell them what often turn out to be worthless or high risk shares in US or UK investments. Shareholders are advised to be very wary of any unsolicited advice, offers to buy shares at a discount or offers of free company reports.

If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:

Make sure you get the correct name of the person and organisation.
Check that they are properly authorised by the Financial Services Authority before getting involved. You can check at www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/register.
Report the matter to the FSA by telephoning 0845 606 1234 or online at www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk. If you deal with an unauthorised firm, you would not be eligible to receive payment under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Inform Reed Elsevier PLC’s Registrar at the address shown on page 193. They are not able to investigate such incidents themselves but will record the details and pass them on to Reed Elsevier PLC and liaise with the FSA.