London Stock Exchange plc Agrees Undertakings With Office Of Fair Trading On Issuer Services' Tariffs

The London Stock Exchange announces today that it has agreed undertakings with the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") leading to Issuer Services' tariff reductions for the majority of companies with equity shares listed on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market and quoted on AIM. These undertakings have been agreed following the OFT's investigation into the increases in the Exchange's Issuer Services' tariffs introduced in 2002.

The agreed undertakings provide for the following changes to Issuer Services' tariffs:

• An average of more than 25 per cent reduction in annual tariffs for all UK Main Market companies as set out in Attachment 1;
• A reduction in AIM annual tariffs to a flat fee of £4,000 per annum; and
• A reduction in AIM admission tariffs to a flat fee of £4,000 per company.

The change in pricing is to be implemented as part of the Exchange's current pricing review for Issuer Services and will take effect from 1 April 2004. It is estimated that if these tariffs had been in effect during the financial year ended 31 March 2003, the reduction in Issuer Services' revenue would have been around £5.8 million.

The Exchange has also agreed that any future increases in Issuer Services' tariffs will be limited to increases in the Office of National Statistics Service Sector Wages index. This undertaking will be reviewed in April 2007.

Commenting on the agreement, Martin Wheatley, Deputy Chief Executive of the Exchange, said: "Whilst the Exchange refutes the OFT's conclusions, it believes the swift and definitive resolution to this matter is in the best interests of customers and shareholders."