Q & A

Dominic Coyleanswers your questions.

Are old oil share certs worthless?

I recently came across some old oil share certificates from the 1980s for Bula Resources Ltd, Eglinton Oil & Gas Plc, and Conroy Petroleum and Natural Resources Plc. Whatever happened to these companies? I assume the share certificates are worthless?

Mr J.B., Dublin

I can understand your scepticism given the volatile nature of the Irish exploration sector down the years but I wouldn't make such sweeping assumptions if I were you. While it is certainly true that your Bula Resources shares aren't worth even the paper on which they're printed, the same cannot be said for the other two.

Bula went into liquidation in March 2004 and that is where it remains. Official liquidator Jim Stafford has posted an update on the website www.liquidations.ie/ bula.htm. It states specifically: "Shareholders should note that their shares have no value."

So much for the bad news. Things look better in relation to your other two punts. While neither Eglinton Oil & Gas nor Conroy Petroleum and Natural Resources appear on today's stock market listings, your shares are still valid.

Eglinton was renamed Aminex in April 1991. At that time, a decision was taken not to reissue share certificates, which means your existing Eglinton certificate remains valid.

There has been a plethora of share placings and offerings in Aminex since, which will have diluted your holding as a percentage of the overall company, but you still retain the number of shares in Aminex that are quoted on your Eglinton certificate.

Conroy is a more complicated affair and one on which you will need to act. Back in 1991, Conroy took over another exploration group, Atlantic Resources. While this in itself had no impact on your holding, the new enlarged company was renamed Arcon in August 1991.

Again, a decision was taken that the original Conroy Petroleum and Natural Resources share certificates would remain valid to avoid the hassle and administration in reissuing certificates to thousands of small shareholders.

However, a couple of events since will have affected your holding. First, in August 2004, Arcon had a one-for-10 consolidation - meaning that, after this date, you would own one Arcon share for every 10 Conroy shares you initially held.

In May 2005, Arcon was taken over by Swedish mining group Lundin. That deal saw Lundin pay $36,2198 cash and 3.2196 Lundin Mining Swedish depositary receipts (SDRs) for every 100 consolidated Arcon shares.

That offer went unconditional, which means your Conroy certificate is now invalid and you need to return it to the share registrar to claim any money and Lundin shares owing to you. The address is: Computershare, Heron House, Corrig Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

One other bit of good news is that you may have a holding in another listed company, unbeknownst to you. Back in 1997, a company called Providence Resources was demerged from Arcon, with Arcon investors receiving shares in this new company on a pro rata basis.

I haven't tracked the subsequent share register activity of Providence since then but it is likely that you also have a holding there for which you will need to get a share certificate issued.

Again, Computershare will be able to advise you.

Stamp duty

My daughter bought a lovely apartment in a converted building. She was a first-time buyer. When her solicitor applied for the exemption from stamp duty, as the apartment was under the required square footage, it was refused by the Revenue on the basis that the building was not a "new build" but a converted building.

(The rules were changed the following year to include second-hand homes. ) The stamp duty was therefore paid.

My query is this. My daughter is now looking at a bigger apartment which is a new build and the square footage would qualify for exemption from stamp duty. Is she now a first-time buyer for stamp duty purposes?

Ms B.C., e-mail

I'm afraid not. You only get to be a first-time buyer once. You are quite right that the Government has changed the rules so that first-time buyers can now claim an exemption for stamp duty on second-hand properties where, previously, this was only possible on newly built dwellings. Unfortunately for your daughter, this does nothing to turn back the clock on her liability to stamp duty when she bought her first home.

However, all is not lost. The rules on stamp duty, as they now stand, dictate that people buying a newly built property as an owner-occupier are exempt from stamp duty as long as the property has a a floor area of not more than 125 square metres and has a floor area certificate to that effect from the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

• Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. Due to the volume of mail, there may be a delay in answering queries.

All suitable queries will be answered through the columns of the newspaper. No personal correspondence will be entered into.