Around 4.7 million people in the UK continue to hold paper share certificates, according to new research from Euroclear UK & International together with Thinks Insights & Strategy. The findings raise questions about the pace of the UK’s transition to a fully digital shareholding system, which the government aims to complete by 2027 following the recommendations of the Digitisation Taskforce.
The survey suggests that reluctance to digitise is not the main obstacle. Almost a quarter of respondents said they could not name any benefit of keeping physical certificates, and only small minorities cited reasons such as voting access or avoiding broker fees. One third received their certificates through inheritance or as a gift, and older investors were more likely to have bought paper shares directly.
Despite generally positive feedback from those who have completed the process, three-quarters described it as a good experience, only one in three paper shareholders plans to dematerialise before the deadline.
Integration challenges
With 99 per cent of FTSE 350 share capital already held within the UK’s CSD, the remaining paper certificates represent a shrinking but operationally significant fringe. Consolidating these holdings into a single digital register is expected to reduce duplication and improve communication flows between issuers, intermediaries and investors, longstanding friction points in the UK’s market infrastructure.
The report also highlights international comparisons, pointing to Sweden’s decades-old digital model and notably higher levels of household equity ownership. The authors suggest that simplifying access to shareholding could support broader retail participation, though the UK’s dematerialisation effort still hinges on reaching investors who have taken no steps toward digitisation so far.
