Legal & General Group Plc ($LGEN)

It wasn't possible for me to ascertain easily from the accounts how many third-party suppliers we have who as creditors of the organization might consider themselves to be prejudiced?

So just to be clear, this capital reduction is at the plc Holdco. And therefore, it's not really an operating company. And so the creditors of the company are few and far between. So the creditors at large of our organization, whether they be insurance creditors or trading creditors are not impacted by this proposal.

Thank you. Other questions?

Yes. Thank you very much. Am I right in saying that the consolidated -- the company statement of equity on Page 236 is what is most pertinent here because that shows retained earnings down to GBP 1.4 billion. And given that our dividends are about GBP 1.2 billion, would this -- are we doing this purely so we can continue to pay dividends for the next year or 2? And the thing is if you're only moving GBP 1 billion or so into the retained earnings, what on earth is going to happen in 2 years' time when those retained earnings go to 0?

No, that's just -- this is not the consolidated balance sheet earnings. This is just the plc, the top company. And what we're doing, just to say, it's a regularly used mechanism by companies of our type. There are other companies in the sector, including insurance companies that have tied up their corporate balance sheet in this way, effectively through rights issues or buying back our own shares over many years, you create effectively these trapped reserves in the share premium account and the capital redemption account. And what this mechanism is doing is moving, as John outlined in his introduction, those reserves from effectively non-distributable reserves to distributable reserves. It doesn't impact the dividend paying capacity of the business. It just -- it gives us more flexibility. So no, it doesn't impact the consolidated balance sheet, just the entity.

Thank you. Other questions? Yes.

Sorry, can I just try that again then? On Page 236, that's the company statement of changes in equity and the retained earnings as at 31st December 2025 is GBP 1.4 billion.

Yes. Apologies. That page is -- the entity balance sheet is the one to focus on, and it's those reserves that are being moved. So this is more of a one-off exercise. It doesn't impact the dividend paying capacity of the group. It just creates more capital flexibility within a particular company.

Understood. So -- but you're moving GBP 1 billion out of the share premium account. So that will increase retained earnings to GBP 2.4 billion. But given that our dividends are GBP 1.2 billion a year, that only gives us 2 years' worth of dividend capability. So what happens at that point.

The dividends of the group that are paid to all of you as shareholders come from a variety of companies in the group. So our insurance company as our asset management businesses. So this company isn't the sole creator of the funding, it's effectively just a top holding company. So it's just -- it's a piece of the giant the jigsaw itself.

Thank you. Other questions. Nothing online. Well, look, in that case, thank you all for your participation. That concludes the formal business of the general meeting. So I now declare the general meeting closed. If anyone has any further questions, or would like to speak to any of the Board or group management committee members will be available downstairs during lunch. Alternatively, you can e-mail or write to us. I'd like to thank you all for joining us today and invite those of you that are here with us to join us for a light lunch downstairs. We have some helpers at the back of the room who will direct you. Thank you very much.