Originally developed to provide an internal market for Share plc shares, ShareMark is a ground-breaking share-trading facility for small and medium sized companies. It aims to be low-cost, simple, accessible and highly visible and provides the following services for companies, investors and shareholders.

• Unlike other markets in the UK, ShareMark's ability to deal stock at a single price makes it the ideal trading solution for small to medium sized companies where low demand for shares creates a wide bid/offer spread.
• A valuation and trading facility ideally suited to illiquid funds.

Investors and Shareholders

• Are you looking for exciting new investment opportunities in the unlisted and smaller company sector? If the answer is yes, then ShareMark is the place for you. Whether you are looking to exit an existing investment or seeking the opportunity to invest, we can offer you access to a broad range of companies across all sectors and regions of the UK.

Advisers

• Competition amongst professional advisers is increasingly strong so it is vitally important that you are up to date with all the new developments in the market place. ShareMark is one such development. Whether you have private investors seeking alternative investment opportunities or corporate clients requiring a share trading facilities, you can't afford not to know about ShareMark.

ShareMark, is operated by The Share Centre Ltd., a member of the London Stock Exchange and authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. It is different to other markets (i.e. OFEX, AIM, the London Stock Exchange) because it operates through an electronic auction market, matching buyers and sellers at a single price, thus there is no bid/offer spread on ShareMark stocks. Auctions may occur daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on the needs of the company and the shareholders. Because deals are struck periodically, rather than continually, it is well suited to the needs of less frequently traded stocks.

The auction price for a stock is set by an algorithm, which forms a price through the analysis of available supply and investor demand. Orders are submitted directly online by a broker and can then be deleted or amended right up to the pre-determined cut-off time on the date of the auction. Investors can purchase shares traded on ShareMark in much the same way as any other listed stock i.e. through a stockbroker. Price limits are set for both buy and sell orders. Value orders allowing investors to invest a pre-determined sum, can also be set. Auctions then take place after a Compliance Review, during which The Share Centre's Compliance Department audits activity and so ensures a fair price is struck.

ShareMark History

In 2000, The Share Centre issued free shares to around 90,000 clients. In support of the share issue, ShareMark was established to provide an internal trading platform, allowing shareholders to quickly and simply sell or purchase shares. The market was opened to other companies for the purposes of share trading in 2002 and is currently available to unlisted companies, funds and dual-traded companies (dual trading means that the company appears on both ShareMark and another market, for instance AIM).

Regulatory Environment

ShareMark gains its regulatory status via The Share Centre Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority as an agency stockbroker. ShareMark ensures that companies quoted on the market comply with its code of conduct, a set of rules and principles, governing their market conduct. ShareMark is not a Recognised Investment Exchange or a 'regulated market' however, investors do receive regulator protection via the authorised stockbroker through which they deal.

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