RELX PLC REL files 3.7 million share block listing as employee share plans expand on 17 December 2025

RELX PLC (LSE: REL) published fresh UK regulatory updates on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, centred on employee share scheme funding rather than a trading statement or earnings release. The FTSE 100 information and analytics group applied for a block listing of 3.7 million ordinary shares, while separate exchange and FCA notices showed a smaller 60,000-share admission taking effect today. ^[1]

RELX shares were quoted at 3,047p sell / 3,048p buy at the close in London on 17 December, up 7p (+0.23%), while the FTSE 100 rose 1.61%. ^[2]

Today’s RELX news on 17 December 2025

1) RELX applies for a 3.7 million-share block listing

In an RNS announcement dated 17 December 2025, RELX said it has applied to the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange for a block listing of 3,700,000 ordinary shares (each with a nominal value of 14 51/116p) for admission to trading on the LSE and admission to the FCA’s Official List. The company said the shares will rank pari passu with existing shares.

RELX also disclosed how the 3.7 million shares are intended to be used across employee plans:

1,110,000 shares: RELX Group plc Executive Share Option Scheme 2013
1,110,000 shares: RELX PLC Executive Share Ownership Scheme 2023
1,080,000 shares: RELX PLC Sharesave Plan 2023
400,000 shares: RELX PLC Employee Share Purchase Plan 2023

Admission of these 3.7 million shares is expected on 22 December 2025, according to the filing.

2) Separate notices show a 60,000-share admission effective today

Alongside RELX’s new 3.7 million-share application, regulatory notices dated 17 December 2025 (08:00) include an entry for RELX PLC showing 60,000 ordinary shares admitted (a “block admission” line item). ^[3]

This 60,000-share admission links back to RELX’s earlier RNS (published 12 December 2025) that referenced a 60,000-share block listing connected to the RELX PLC Sharesave Plan 2023, with admission expected on 17 December 2025. ^[4]

What a block listing means for RELX shareholders

A block listing is a common UK market mechanism that lets a listed company admit a “block” of shares to the market so it can issue shares over time under employee share plans (e.g., sharesave, option plans, share purchase plans) without needing a separate admission process for every issuance.

Is this dilution?

Potentially—but the scale matters.

RELX’s newly announced block listing is 3.7 million shares.
RELX previously reported 1,823,866,471 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) after cancelling treasury shares in early December. ^[5]

Using that most recently reported share count as a reference point, 3.7 million shares would be about 0.20% of the shares in issue (and would typically be issued gradually as employees exercise/vest), not all at once.

Why RELX can absorb employee share issuance more easily than many firms

RELX has been pairing share-based incentives with large, ongoing buybacks.

In 2024, RELX said it deployed £1.0 billion on share buybacks and intended to deploy £1.5 billion on buybacks in 2025. ^[6]
On 5 December 2025, RELX announced it had completed its 2025 buyback programme, purchasing 39.5 million shares for £1.5 billion. ^[7]
The same announcement said RELX cancelled 55 million treasury shares, leaving 4,107,872 shares in treasury and 1,823,866,471 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares). ^[8]

That combination—employee share plans plus systematic buybacks/cancellations—is a well-established capital management pattern at RELX and one reason investors often view block listings as administrative rather than a sign of a strategic shift.

RELX share price snapshot for 17 December 2025

As of the market close in London, HL data showed:

Price: 3,047p sell / 3,048p buy
Daily move: +7p (+0.23%)
Day range: high 3,057p / low 3,024p
Previous close: 3,040p
Market cap: ~£55.41bn
P/E ratio: ~25.31
Dividend yield: ~2.07% ^[9]

(Share-price figures can vary slightly by venue and timestamp, but the above reflects the close information shown for 17 December 2025.) ^[10]

The operational backdrop: growth, analytics, and AI tooling

While today’s headlines are technical listing updates, RELX’s underlying investor narrative in 2025 has been consistent: analytics-led growth, supported by AI-enabled decision tools and a continued shift toward higher-value digital products.

In its 23 October 2025 trading update, RELX reported:

Underlying revenue growth year-to-date: +7%
Segment trends (YTD underlying revenue growth):
- Risk: +8%
- Scientific, Technical & Medical: +5%
- Legal: +9%
- Exhibitions: +8% ^[11]

The same update explicitly tied performance to “AI-enabled analytics and decision tools” across Risk, highlighted product momentum in STM (including a “next generation… AI-powered researcher solution”), and flagged Legal growth driven by the generative AI platform Lexis+ AI and growth in “Protégé” usage and expansion. ^[12]

RELX also describes itself as a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools, serving customers in more than 180 countries and territories, with offices in about 40 countries and employing more than 36,000 people. ^[13]

Recent financial performance investors may connect to today’s filings

2024 results set the baseline

In its 2024 full-year results (published 13 February 2025), RELX reported:

Revenue: £9,434m (underlying growth +7%)
Adjusted operating profit: £3,199m (underlying growth +10%)
Adjusted EPS: 120.1p (+5%; constant-currency growth +9%)
A proposed full-year dividend of 63.0p (+7%) ^[14]

RELX also said electronic revenue represented 83% of the total in 2024. ^[15]

First-half 2025 continued the trend

In its 24 July 2025 first-half results, RELX reported:

Revenue: £4,741m (underlying growth +7%)
Adjusted operating profit: £1,652m (underlying growth +9%)
Adjusted EPS: 63.5p (constant-currency growth +10%)
An interim dividend of 19.5p (+7%) ^[16]

It also reiterated buyback deployment plans inside the £1.5bn 2025 programme. ^[17]

Why does this matter for a 17 December “block listing” story? Because block listings are most often read through the lens of share count, and RELX’s earnings/cash flow profile and buyback cadence help explain why the market typically treats these filings as routine plan maintenance rather than a shock to the equity story.

What happens next: key dates for RELX watchers

A few calendar items stand out after today’s block listing announcement:

22 December 2025: expected admission date for the 3.7 million block listing shares (per today’s RNS).
2 January 2026 to 6 February 2026: RELX’s planned £250m non-discretionary buyback window (announced earlier this month). ^[18]
12 February 2026: RELX’s scheduled results announcement for the year to 31 December 2025 (per the company’s financial calendar). ^[19]

For many investors, the next major “price-moving” datapoint is likely the February 2026 results, not the mechanics of a block listing—unless today’s share-plan activity meaningfully changes expected dilution (which, on the disclosed numbers, looks modest).

Bottom line

RELX’s news flow on 17 December 2025 is dominated by equity-administration updates:

a new 3.7 million-share block listing application (admission expected 22 December) tied to multiple employee share plans,
and the effective admission of a separate 60,000-share line item referenced in exchange and FCA notices dated today.

With RELX’s track record of substantial buybacks and cancellations alongside share-based incentives, the market often views such filings as part of the company’s standard capital-management toolkit rather than a standalone strategic signal.

This article is informational and not investment advice.