What a share allotment filing does and does not tell you
The form states a share class, a number of shares, a nominal value and an amount paid. It does not state a purpose. Bradshaw reads each filing, groups filings whose allotment dates chain within 21 days, and gives each group a kind. This post counts the groups, explains how the kinds differ and lists what no allotment filing can show.
What companies file
There are 106,849 allotment groups with an allotment date since 1 Jan 2024. 53,978 are option exercises and 27,032 are priced equity. The remaining kinds are small by comparison, and together they show how much of the register is housekeeping and not fundraising.
The kinds, and what each one means
Priced equity. New shares sold for cash at a price above nominal value. This is the only kind that produces cash raised, a price per share and a valuation, and it is what most readers mean by a funding round. There were 27,032.
Option exercise. Shares issued at or just above nominal value, which is how an employee exercising options appears. Growth shares and some other issues look the same on the form. There were 53,978, which makes this the most common kind of allotment by a wide margin.
Conversion. The form states a non-cash consideration, as when loan notes or advance subscription agreements turn into shares. The money arrived earlier, and the filing records the moment it became equity. There were 7,755.
Founder or incorporation. Shares allotted within 30 days of the company's incorporation, which set up the first owners. There were 6,421.
Issue to a parent company. Shares allotted to the company's own corporate parent. The subscription price is set inside a group, so it is not a market valuation. There were 6,025.
Bonus or capitalization. A non-cash allotment at nominal value, which moves reserves into share capital without new money. There were 688.
Other. Lines that fit none of the above, such as an amount paid that reads as a total and not a price per share. No cash raised or valuation is shown for these. There were 4,950.
Checks on priced rounds
Every priced round is checked against the rest of the filing history, and 5,295 of the 27,032 carry at least one note, such as a single-share issue or a corporate parent holding most of the company. A note never changes a filed value. It records why a round deserves a closer look, and the figure stays exactly as filed.
What a share allotment filing cannot show
Some money raised by UK companies never appears in an SH01. Priced rounds are a large and measurable part of the picture, but they are not the whole of it.
- Money raised by a US parent company. When a UK company is owned by a US parent that raises the money, the UK company files nothing. Notices of a foreign corporate controller can hint at this, and US filings may show the round.
- Majority and private equity purchases of existing shares. No new shares are issued, so there is no SH01. At most the change shows up as a notice of a new controlling shareholder.
- Advance subscription agreements and loan notes. The money is in but no shares exist yet. The round appears only when the instrument converts, often at a discount to the round price.
- Rounds raised in another group company. The brand people know is not always the company that issues the shares, so the ownership chain matters.
Within those limits the filing is an unusually strong source. It is a legal record made by the company itself, it states the number of shares and the price paid for each, and it is dated. That is why Bradshaw presents its figures as the priced rounds that appear in share allotment filings, with the working and the filing page behind every number.
Based on Companies House share allotment filings read by Bradshaw.
How Bradshaw reads a funding round from a share allotment filing
Questions and answers
What does form SH01 show?
It records that a company issued shares: the share class, the number of shares, the nominal value and the amount paid for each share. It does not say why the shares were issued, so the purpose has to be read from the numbers.
How can you tell a funding round from an option exercise?
A funding round sells new shares for cash at a price well over nominal value. An option exercise is issued at nominal value or only a little over it. Of 106,849 allotment groups since 1 Jan 2024, 53,978 (51%) are option exercises and 27,032 (25%) are priced equity rounds. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
What funding does a share allotment filing not show?
Money raised by a foreign parent company, purchases of existing shares, advance subscription agreements and loan notes that have not yet converted, and rounds raised in a different group company do not appear as a new allotment in the company that is named.
Can a valuation be worked out from an SH01?
Yes, for priced rounds. The price per share multiplied by the shares in issue gives a valuation on an issued-share basis. Option exercises, conversions and issues to a parent company do not give a market valuation.