Record a share split or other corporate action
Apply a split, consolidation, bonus issue, buyback or reduction of capital to every holding at once, after previewing it.
Screenshots are retaken from IQ Entities on every release. Updated 14 October 2026.
A subdivision, consolidation or bonus issue changes every holding in a class on the same day. Recording it as one corporate action, rather than editing each holding, keeps the whole change as a single decision you can preview, apply and, if it was wrong, reverse.
Preview the action
Open the company and choose Corporate Actions under Securities in its sidebar, then choose New action.
Choose the Action and the Share class. The line beneath explains what the action does to each holding.
Enter the Effective date and the Ratio, or the number of Shares for a buyback or reduction. The hint under the ratio says how it is read for this action, with an example.
Choose how Fractional entitlements are treated, and give the Reason, such as the resolution that approved it. Choose Preview.
Apply it
Check each holder's shares Before, the Change and After, and any note about the nominal value. Changing any input discards the preview, so what you apply is always what you previewed.
Choose Apply to the register.
The action is listed as Applied. Where Companies House must be notified on paper, the row offers Companies House form; see below.
Prepare the Companies House paperwork
Some share-capital changes must be notified to Companies House on forms it takes only on paper or through its own website: the SH02 for a subdivision, consolidation or redemption, and the SH03 return of purchase and SH06 notice of cancellation for a buyback. IQ Entities fills them in from the register and tracks the deadline; a person signs and delivers them.
On the applied action's row, click Companies House form. Companies House paperwork lists each form the action owes, marked Not prepared, with its Deadline, the date it is Due, the Statute and the Form version. What must go with it names anything to send alongside, such as a copy of the resolution.
Where the deadline runs from a date IQ Entities does not hold, such as the day bought-back shares were delivered to the company, the card says the date is provisional. Treat it as a stand-in until that date is recorded.
Under What IQ Entities cannot supply, enter the name of the person signing and the capacity in which they sign, and confirm anything the form asks you to state.
Click Prepare draft for a copy to check, or Prepare for filing for the copy to sign. The card lists the Documents produced, and anything the form still does not state is printed on its face.
Once the signed form is delivered, enter the Companies House reference and click Record as delivered. Recording the delivery is what closes the duty; preparing the form does not.
Which action to choose
| What the members resolved | Action |
|---|---|
| Split each share into several (a 10-for-1 split) | Subdivision (share split) |
| Combine several shares into one | Consolidation (reverse split) |
| Issue new fully paid shares to members in proportion to their holdings | Bonus issue |
| The company buys back its own shares | Share buyback, then choose whether the Repurchased shares are Cancelled or Held in treasury |
| Reduce the share capital | Reduction of capital |
| Redeem redeemable shares on their terms | Redemption of redeemable shares |
| Offer new shares to members, who choose whether to take them up | Rights issue, then Create the offer and record each member's election |
Tips from practice
- Record the resolution first and name it in Reason. The audit trail then shows why every holding moved.
- Reverse on an applied action writes a compensating movement against every holding. The original entries stay on the register, because a register records what was undone as well as what was done.
- Check the cap table after applying. See Read a company's cap table.
- Nothing tells IQ Entities if Companies House rejects a paper form. Keep the receipt and check the company's filing history once it should have been registered.