The minimum price the company can pay for each share is the nominal value of that share. The maximum price the company can pay for each share is the higher of 5% above the average middle market price of a share for the 5 business days prior to the day the purchase is made and the higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid price taken from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List at the time the company buys the shares. The authority shall expire at the conclusion of the Company’s annual general meeting held in 2019, or, if earlier, at the close of business on 28 June 2019. As on May 29, 2018, the company had 2,979,421,884 shares in issue and no shares in its treasury.