Shareholder Executive

The Shareholder Executive (ShEx) was a body within the UK Government between 2003 and 2016, responsible for managing the government's financial interest in a range of state owned businesses for commercial rather than political interests. It was part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and staffed by civil servants, many of whom were corporate finance professionals with private sector experience. It was led by Mark Russell as chief executive at the time of its merger into UK Government Investments.

The Shareholder Executive managed a portfolio of businesses with a combined turnover of around £12 billion. The businesses varied and could be in the form of a limited company, public limited company, limited liability partnership, statutory corporation, trading fund, executive agency, non departmental public body or non ministerial government department. It advised the government on drafting parts of the Postal Services Act 2011 and worked on the privatisation of Royal Mail and the possible mutualisation of Post Office Ltd. It was also involved in establishing the UK Green Investment Bank, the Public Data Group and the British Business Bank. It was not responsible for the government's shares in UK banks, which were managed by UK Financial Investments (UKFI), or the government's property holdings, which were managed by the Government Property Unit (GPU).

The Shareholder Executive was originally established in September 2003 as part of the Cabinet Office. In 2004 it moved to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The National Audit Office published a report into the Shareholder Executive in 2007. This was broadly positive but had some misgivings about its location in the DTI. Following the split of the DTI in 2007, ShEX moved to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and then to its successor, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in 2009. The Shareholder Executive was originally involved in the government's nationalisation of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley at the start of the banking crisis in 2008. It then began the process of splitting off Northern Rock's 'bad bank' mortgage business to form Northern Rock. All bank shareholdings were transferred to UK Financial Investments in November 2008. In 2011, the Government Property Unit was moved from the Shareholder Executive to the Cabinet Office as part of the new Efficiency and Reform Group. In 2015, the government announced that the Shareholder Executive would be transferred to HM Treasury and became subsidiary of UK Government Investments, along with UK Financial Investments. This was due to occur with the end of the government fiscal year on 1 April 2016.

The Portfolio Unit contained businesses where the Shareholder Executive had a shareholding mandate, although the shares themselves were owned by government departments. Its role was either accountable to ministers directly ('executive'), working alongside shareholding teams within departments ('joint team'), or advising department shareholder teams ('advisory'). Most businesses were wholly owned by the government, but some were partly owned.

Working Links (33.3%)

The Corporate Finance Practice contained businesses where the Shareholder Executive had no clear shareholding mandate. Its role was to provide advice to the relevant government department.