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( Mark One ) ☐ ☑ ☐ ☐ UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON , D.C. 20549 Form 20 - F REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 ( b ) OR ( g ) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 OR ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 ( d ) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2020 OR TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 ( d ) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from OR to SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 ( d ) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of event requiring this shell company report Title of each class Commission file number 001-39487 Silence Therapeutics plc ( EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER ) Not Applicable ( Translation of Registrant's Name into English ) United Kingdom ( Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization ) 72 Hammersmith Road London W14 8TH United Kingdom ( Address of principal executive offices ) Mark Rothera Chief Executive Officer Silence Therapeutics plc 72 Hammersmith Road London W14 8TH United Kingdom Tel : +44 20 3457 6900 ( Name , Telephone , E - mail and / or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person ) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12 ( b ) of the Act : American Depositary Shares , each representing 3 ordinary shares , nominal value £ 0.05 per share Trading symbol ( s ) SLN Name of each exchange on which registered The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ( Nasdaq Capital Market ) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12 ( g ) of the Act : None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15 ( d ) of the Act : None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report . Ordinary shares , nominal value £ 0.05 per share : 83,306,259 as of December 31 , 2020 Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well - known seasoned issuer , as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act . Yes > No If this report is an annual or transition report , indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15 ( d ) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes @ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant ( 1 ) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 ( d ) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months ( or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports ) , and ( 2 ) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days Yes □ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S - T ( $ 232.405 of this chapter ) during the preceding 12 months ( or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files ) . < Yes □ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer , an accelerated filer , a non - accelerated filer , or an emerging growth company . See definition of " large accelerated filer , " " accelerated filer , " and " emerging growth company " in Rule 12b - 2 of the Exchange Act . Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non - accelerated filer Emerging growth company If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP , indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13 ( a ) of the Exchange Act . † The term " new or revised financial accounting standard " refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5 , 2012 . Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 ( b ) of the Sarbanes - Oxley Act ( 15 U.S.C. 7262 ( b ) ) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report . Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing : U.S. GAAP □ International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board If " Other " has been checked in response to the previous question , indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow . Item 17 If this is an annual report , indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company ( as defined in Rule 12b - 2 of the Exchange Act ) . □ Yes > No Item 18 Other □