28. Treasury shares


	Pearson plc
	Number of shares 000s			£m
At 1 January 2018		5,994			61
Purchase of treasury shares		—			—
Release of treasury shares		(2,769	)		(28	)

At 31 December 2018		3,225			33
Purchase of treasury shares		6,100			52
Release of treasury shares		(6,067	)		(61	)

At 31 December 2019		3,258			24

The Group holds Pearson plc shares in trust to satisfy its obligations under its restricted share plans (see note 26). These shares, representing 0.4% (2018: 0.4%) 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 £0.8m (2018: £0.8m). Dividends on treasury shares are waived.

At 31 December 2019, the market value of Pearson plc treasury shares was £21m (2018: £30m).