British government securities or gilt edged bonds are meant for UK residents, Anyone who lives outside of the UK and wishes to purchase gilts from the UK Debt Management Office must first check with their country whether they are legally able to do so.

The office gives a preferred list of investors the choice to purchase and invest in government gilts as well as sell them through the post if they so choose. The commission that the DMO charges are likely to be lower than if an investor bought their gilts from a high street bank or individual stock broker.

Potential investors may buy gilts by completing the appropriate DMO form and sending it with the payment or the gilt to be sold to the address listed on the DMO website.

There is no facility for investors to specify a maximum price at which gilts are purchased. The Debt Management Office do not have the facility to offer buyers investment advice, they must obtain this from a bank or stock broker.

The information on the DMO website is not there to promote the buying and selling of gilts. You need to be aware when you purchase gilts that the value varies and can go up or down depending on the market. When the price or value of gilts fluctuates this will affect your interest payments, at points the payment may be quite high and others lower than you expected.

You may not get back the whole of your investment when you decide to sell gilts because it depends on the state of the market at that time. If the value of the gilts has gone down then the repayment of your principal will be lower. There are some gilts that are not available for purchase through the DMO as these are not traded on a daily basis.