28. Treasury shares


	Pearson plc
	Number of shares 000s			£m
At 1 January 2016		6,705			72
Purchase of treasury shares		3,000			27
Release of treasury shares		(1,986	)		(20	)

At 31 December 2016		7,719			79
Purchase of treasury shares		—			—
Release of treasury shares		(1,725	)		(18	)

At 31 December 2017		5,994			61

The Group holds Pearson plc shares in trust to satisfy its obligations under its restricted share plans (see note 26). These shares, representing 0.8% (2016: 0.9%) of called-up share capital, are treated as treasury shares for accounting purposes and have a par value of 25p per share.

The nominal value of Pearson plc treasury shares amounts to £1.5m (2016: £1.9m) . Dividends on treasury shares are waived.

At 31 December 2017, the market value of Pearson plc treasury shares was £44m (2016: £63m).