25. Authorised and issued share capital

	2008 Million	2007 Million	2008 £m	2007 £m
Authorised
Ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p	967.7	967.7	20.0	20.0
Allotted, called up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p each (pre 14 September 2007: ordinary shares of 2p each)
At 1 January – ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p each (2007: 2p each)	609.0	617.6	12.6	12.3
Shares repurchased – ordinary shares of 2p each	–	(6.6)	–	(0.1)
Issued on exercise of share options – ordinary shares of 2p each	–	7.9	–	0.2
Reduction in issued shares on consolidation – see below	–	(20.0)	–	–
Issued on exercise of share options – ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p each	12.2	10.1	0.2	0.2
At 31 December – ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p	621.2	609.0	12.8	12.6

In September 2007, The Capita Group Plc, by ordinary resolution, approved a share consolidation whereby shareholders on the register on 14 September 2007 exchanged 31 existing ordinary shares of 2p for 30 new ordinary shares of 2¹⁄₁₅ p each. The effect of the share consolidation was to reduce the authorised share capital of the company to 967,741,920 ordinary shares of 2¹⁄₁₅ p each and to reduce the number of shares in issue by 20m.

During the year the Group repurchased 10.4m ordinary 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p shares with an aggregate nominal value of £0.2m at a total cost of £68.4m for which it paid cash at an average cost per share of £6.58. There were additional expenses of acquiring the shares of £0.4m in the year. These shares were held in the Capita Employee Benefit Trust at 31 December 2008.

During the year 12.2m ordinary 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p shares with an aggregate nominal value of £0.2m were issued under share option schemes for a total consideration of £35.7m.

Treasury shares	2008 Million	2007 Million	2008 £m	2007 £m
Ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p
At 1 January	–	–	–	–
Shares repurchased – ordinary 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p shares	10.4	–	0.2	–
Shares transferred to Employee Benefit Trust	(10.4)		(0.2)
At 31 December – ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p	–	–	–	–

Employee Benefit Trust shares	2008 Million	2007 Million	2008 £m	2007 £m
Ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p
At 1 January	–	–	–	–
Shares transferred from treasury	10.4		0.2
At 31 December – ordinary shares of 2 ¹⁄₁₅ p	10.4	–	0.2	–

The Group will use shares held in the Employee Benefit Trust to satisfy future requirements for shares under the Group’s share option and long term investment plans.

The Group has an unexpired authority to repurchase up to 10% of its issued share capital.