Letters
Shares for all
Sir:• Christopher Fildes's note 'A wider circle' (City and Suburban, 18 August) does little justice to the unprecedented steps which the Government is taking to achieve its aim of widespread individual Ownership of British Telecom shares. A number of 'specialist advisers' have been appointed, including public relations con- sultants, an advertising agency and a mar- ket research -organisation, and a major promotional programme is being imple- mented.
Mr Fildes calls for a roadshow; in fact a roadshow aimed at financial intermediaries has already visited 18 cities throughout the United Kingdom and a second tour is planned for the period leading up to the offer. In parallel, an extensive educational campaign is being undertaken to ensure that High Street banks and financial advis- ers are well informed about the offer, so bank counter staff will Ize able to dissemi- nate information about the flotation and help fill in forms as Mr Fildes suggests. Over 16 million copies of a leaflet about British Telecom are being distributed to the company's individual customers, invit- ing those interested to send off for further information about becoming a sharehol- der. In addition, great efforts are being made to ensure that buying the shares will be as simple as possible. Finally, a major advertising campaign on television and in the press is being launched this week with the theme 'You can share in British Tele- com's future'. The aim of 'the campaign is to provide information about share own- ership and to encourage the public to consider an investment in British Telecom.
These measures hardly constitute 'sitting back' and reflect the Government's real determination to make investment in Brit- ish Telecom accessible to all
David Clementi
Director,
Kleinwort, Benson Ltd, PO Box 560,
20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3
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