Notes to the company financial statements
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and share premium
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8. Treasury shares
Number of shares 000s | £m | |
---|---|---|
At 1 January 2008 | 11,761 | 82 |
Purchase of treasury shares | 2,028 | 12 |
Release of treasury shares | (3,341) | (41) |
Prior year contributions applied to release of shares | – | 10 |
At 31 December 2008 | 10,448 | 63 |
Purchase of treasury shares | 2,200 | 13 |
Release of treasury shares | (2,983) | (29) |
At 31 December 2009 | 9,665 | 47 |
The company holds its own shares in trust to satisfy its obligations under its restricted share plans. These shares are treated as treasury shares for accounting purposes and have a par value of 25p per share. The nominal value of the company's treasury shares amounts to £2.4m (2008: £2.6m). At 31 December 2009 the market value of the company's treasury shares was £86.1m (2008: £67.0m).