The Share Centre Explained

The Share Centre
Type:Subsidiary of Interactive Investor
Industry:Stockbroker
Fate:merged with interactive investor
Founder:Gavin Oldham
Defunct:January 2022
Location City:Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Location Country:England
Products:Share accounts, investment club accounts, estate administration, probate services
Num Employees:250 (at its height)

The Share Centre was an independent UK retail stockbroker based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England.

History

The Share Centre was founded by Gavin Oldham, formerly of Barclayshare (now Barclays Stockbrokers) in 1990.[1] It was based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The Share Centre Limited operated as a subsidiary of Share PLC until the acquisition by Interactive Investor.[2] It was a member of the London Stock Exchange and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.[3]

In February 2020, Interactive Investor announced its intention to acquire Share PLC (The parent company for The Share Centre).[4] The acquisition was completed in July 2020. All The Share Centre customers affected by the move migrated to the ii platform between February 2021 and November 2021.[5]

Products

In Spring 1991, The Share Centre started as a retail broker offering self-select share dealing services to personal investors. Within 18 months, it secured contracts to provide white-labelled share dealing services for readers of the Mail on Sunday, The Guardian and a large regional newspaper group.[6]

In 2000, it set up a holding company, ShareMark.[3] [6] By 2008, the company floated with a share offer that was four times oversubscribed. It now has more than 227,000 customers across the UK.[6]

In May 2011, The Share Centre deployed a log management and security information and event management (SIEM) solution from LogRhythm.[7] In May 2012, The Share Centre discarded T1PS Investment management's Tom Winnifrith as manager of its two small-cap mandates in favour of former Unicorn founder Peter Webb.[8] In May 2012, The Share Centre has appointed Rufus Leonard to overhaul its website.[9]

In April 2015, Barclays Stockbrokers ceased offering certificated share dealing and transferred all customers requiring the service to The Share Centre. In July 2015, the retail stockbroker completed the integration of more than 11,000 Barclays’ customers.[6]

In August 2018, the Share Centre was selected by PWC, to take on an estimated 15000 former clients of the collapsed broker Beaufort Securities.[10]

Notes and References

  1. The Share Centre. MoneyWeek. 28 March 2012.
  2. Web site: Company Overview of The Share Centre Limited. Bloomberg Business. 1 August 2015.
  3. Book: Kassam. Isabelle. Mladjenovic. Paul. Investing in Shares For Dummies. 2007. John Wiley & Sons. 244. 978-0470516454.
  4. Web site: interactive investor agrees terms to acquire The Share Centre. 2020-06-05. www.ii.co.uk.
  5. Web site: 6 July 2020. Interactive Investor completes acquisition of The Share Centre. 2020-07-14. Your Money. en.
  6. News: The Share Centre completes Barclays integration. thetradenews.com. 7 July 2015. 1 August 2015.
  7. News: The Share Centre opts for LogRhythm solution for compliance and network management capabilities. SC Magazine UK. 17 May 2011. 1 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093202/http://www.scmagazineuk.com/the-share-centre-opts-for-logrhythm-solution-for-compliance-and-network-management-capabilities/article/203002/. 4 March 2016. live.
  8. Kenway. Natalie. The Share Centre ditches T1PS in favour of ex-Unicorn CEO Webb. Investment Week. 31 May 2012. 1 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150624165755/http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/news/2181067/share-centre-ditches-t1ps-favour-unicorn-ceo-webb. 24 June 2015. live.
  9. News: The Share Centre hires Rufus Leonard for web redesign. The Drum. 1 May 2012. 1 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074159/http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/05/01/share-centre-hires-rufus-leonard-web-redesign. 4 March 2016. live.
  10. Web site: Share Centre takes on Beaufort Clients. CityWire. 8 August 2018. 29 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929114635/http://citywire.co.uk/money/the-share-centre-takes-on-beaufort-securities-clients/a1145107. 29 September 2018. live.