Verified Answer: = B

CIMA F3 compares different forms of long-term finance, including preference shares and bonds/Eurobonds, focusing on control, tax treatment, gearing impact, and flexibility.

Statement B captures a key advantage of preference shares from the company’s perspective: if profits are poor, preference dividends can be omitted or deferred, especially when they are cumulative. Although unpaid dividends accumulate, non-payment does not normally constitute default in the same way as missing an interest payment on a bond. For a Eurobond, failure to pay interest when due would place the company in default, triggering legal and reputational consequences. This extra flexibility is exactly why preference shares might be favoured over bonds.

Statement A is misleading: Eurobonds are often unsecured, and security (or lack of it) is not a defining difference versus preference shares.

Statement C is incorrect in this context: redeemable cumulative preference shares are typically treated as a financial liability under IFRS (like debt), so they would generally increase gearing, not reduce it.

Statement D is clearly wrong as dividends are not tax-deductible, whereas bond interest normally is. Therefore, the best justification for issuing preference shares rather than a Eurobond is B.