Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • May 18, 2022
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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Notice is hereby given that the 2022 Annual General Meeting of Honeycomb Investment Trust plc will be held at the offices of Slaughter and May, One Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8YY on 22 June 2022 at 11.30 a.m. to transact the business set out in the resolutions overleaf.
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under number 09899024)
This document is important and requires your immediate attention. If you are in any doubt as to any aspect of the proposals referred to in this document or as to the action you should take, you should seek your own advice from a stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant, or other independent professional adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares in Honeycomb Investment Trust plc, please forward this document and the accompanying documents as soon as possible to the purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected, for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
Registered Office: 6th Floor, 65 Gresham Street, London, England, EC2V 7NQ
18 May 2022
Dear Shareholder,
I am pleased to enclose the Notice of the Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") of Honeycomb Investment Trust plc (the "Company") which will be held on 22 June 2022 at 11.30 a.m. at the offices of Slaughter and May, One Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8YY.
The following documentation is enclosed with this letter:
Please note that the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements in respect of the year ended 31 December 2021 (the "Annual Report") are available to view and to download electronically on the Company's website at www.honeycombplc.com/information.
If you have previously indicated that you would prefer to receive a printed copy of the Annual Report, then you will also find a copy of the Annual Report enclosed.
The Notice of AGM sets out the business to be considered at the meeting and the purpose of this letter is to explain certain elements of that business to you.
If you would like to vote on the resolutions but will not be attending the AGM, you may appoint a proxy by completing and returning the enclosed proxy form to the Company's registrar, Computershare, at The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99 6ZZ, so as to arrive no later than 11.30 a.m. on 20 June 2022. Alternatively, you may appoint a proxy or proxies electronically either via the website run by Computershare at www.investorcentre.co.uk/eproxy using the Control Number, Shareholder Reference Number (SRN) and PIN provided on the form of proxy or if you hold your shares in CREST, you may appoint a proxy via the CREST system (see notes 8 to 11 below). Likewise, if you appoint a proxy electronically, your proxy appointment must be received by 11.30 a.m. on 20 June 2022. If you hold your shares through a nominee service, please contact the nominee service provider regarding the process for appointing a proxy. The appointment of a proxy will not prevent you from attending the AGM and voting in person should you so wish. Further details relating to voting by proxy are set out in the Notes to the Notice of AGM on pages 12 and 13 of this document.
All resolutions for consideration at the AGM will be voted on by way of a poll, rather than a show of hands. This means that ordinary shareholders will have one vote for each ordinary share held.
If you have any questions relating to the enclosed documents, please call the Company's Registrars, Computershare, on 0370 707 4023. Lines are open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday to Friday. The helpline cannot give any financial, legal or tax advice.
The following documents are available for inspection at the registered office of the Company during usual business hours on any weekday (public holidays excepted) from the date of the Notice of AGM until the conclusion of the AGM and will also be available for inspection at the AGM venue from at least 15 minutes before the AGM until the conclusion of the AGM:
Full details of the above resolutions are contained in the Notice of AGM. The Directors believe that all the proposed resolutions to be considered at the AGM are in the best interests of the Company and its members as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favour of all the resolutions.
Yours sincerely
Chairman Honeycomb Investment Trust plc
18 May 2022
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2022 Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") of Honeycomb Investment Trust plc (the "Company") will be held at the offices of Slaughter and May, One Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8YY on 22 June 2022 at 11.30 a.m. to transact the business set out in the resolutions below.
You will be asked to consider and if thought fit to pass the resolutions below. Resolutions 1 to 11 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions; this means that for each of those ordinary resolutions to be passed, more than 50 per cent. of the votes cast must be in favour. Resolutions 12 to 15 will be proposed as special resolutions; this means that for each of those special resolutions to be passed, at least 75 per cent. of the votes cast must be in favour.
securities into Ordinary Shares to be granted after the authority ends and the Board may allot Ordinary Shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities into Ordinary Shares under any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not ended.
such authority to expire at close of business on 31 August 2023 or, if earlier, on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company but, in each case, during this period the Company may enter into a contract to purchase Ordinary Shares which would, or might, be completed or executed wholly or partly after the authority ends and the Company may purchase Ordinary Shares pursuant to any such contract as if the authority had not ended.
By order of the Board
Company Secretary
18 May 2022
Registered Office – 6th Floor, 65 Gresham Street, London, England, EC2V 7NQ
The Directors are required to present the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021, together with the strategic report, Directors' report and auditor's report on those accounts, to the meeting. These are contained in the Company's Annual Report. A resolution to receive and adopt the annual accounts, together with the strategic report, Directors' report and auditor's report is included as an ordinary resolution.
An advisory resolution to approve the Directors' remuneration report is included as an ordinary resolution. The Directors' remuneration report is set out on pages 53 to 58 of the Annual Report.
A resolution to approve the Company's existing policy to pay four interim dividends per year.
Under the Company's articles of association, the Board is authorised to approve the payment of interim dividends without the need for prior approval of the Company's shareholders.
However, having regard to corporate governance best practice relating to the payment of interim dividends without the approval of a final annual dividend by a company's shareholders, the Board has decided to seek express approval from shareholders of its dividend policy to pay four interim dividends per year. As at the date of the notice of AGM, the policy remains unchanged to that disclosed in the Company's initial public offering prospectus and confirmed in the most recent prospectus published on 21 December 2018 (to be read in conjunction with the supplementary prospectus published on 12 August 2019), which states that the Company intends to distribute at least 85 per cent. of its distributable income earned in each financial year by way of dividends to be paid quarterly. The Company published a shareholder circular on 10 May 2022 (the "Circular") relating to, and seeking the requisite shareholder approvals in connection with, the Company's proposed all share combination with Pollen Street Capital Holdings Limited (the "Transaction"). Subject to and from completion of the Transaction, the Company's dividend policy will be as described in the Circular. Shareholders should note that the dividend policy is not a profit forecast and if dividends are declared by the Board, they will only be paid to the extent permitted in accordance with the Act.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the Company's articles of association, it is the intention of the Board to refrain from authorising any further interim dividend payments until such time as the Company's dividend policy is approved by its shareholders. Accordingly, if Resolution 3 is not passed at the Annual General Meeting, it is the Board's intention to recommend the declaration of any future dividends to the Company's shareholders for approval in a general meeting until such time as an equivalent resolution approving the Company's dividend policy is approved by the shareholders.
The Company's articles of association require that any director appointed by the Board retire and seek election and / or re-election at every AGM. In accordance with the approach, Robert Sharpe, Jim Coyle, Richard Rowney and Joanne Lake will stand for re-election to the Board. The skills and experience of each director, which can be found below and on pages 31 to 32 of the Annual Report, demonstrate why their contribution is, and continues to be, important to the Company's long-term sustainable success.
Chairman of the Board, the Nomination Committee and the Management Evaluation Committee. Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Robert has over 45 years' experience in retail banking. He is currently chairman at MetroBank plc, Hampshire Trust Bank plc and Aspinall Financial Services Limited. He has had an extensive number of appointments both in the UK and the Middle East including non-executive director ("NED") at Aldermore Bank plc, George Wimpy plc, Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund, Vaultex Limited, LSL Properties plc, RIAS plc and several independent NED roles at banks in Qatar, UAE, Oman and Turkey. Robert was previously chief executive officer at West Bromwich Building Society, a role he took to chart and implement its rescue plan. Prior to this, he was chief executive officer at Portman Building Society and Bank of Ireland in the UK.
Senior Independent Director to the Board.
Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Member of the Risk Committee, the Nomination Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Management Evaluation Committee.
Jim is a NED, chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk Committee at HSBC UK Bank plc, chairman of HSBC Trust Company (UK) Ltd and Marks & Spencer Unit Trust Management Limited. He is also Chairman at Supply@ME Capital plc, NED and chairman of the audit and risk committee at Scottish Water, NED at Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc and an independent non-executive member of Deloitte UK Oversight Board. He was previously chairman at Worldfirst, NED at the Scottish Building Society, NED and chairman of the Audit Committee of Vocalink plc, and group financial controller at Lloyds Banking Group, having earlier held a role as divisional finance director, Group Operations. Prior to this, Jim was group chief accountant for the Bank of Scotland, having joined the bank in 1991. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before spending 10 years in the oil industry, holding senior positions with BP. Jim is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, a former member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Financial Reporting Council Committees.
Chairman of the Risk Committee.
Member of the Audit Committee, the Nomination Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Management Evaluation Committee.
Richard is currently Group CEO of James Hay Partnership ("JHP") and Nucleus Financial Group ("NFG") a leading retirement and wealth management specialist managing over £48bn of assets. Backed by Private Equity specialist Epiris, JHP is a consolidator in the platform market. He is also a NED at MSP Capital Limited. Prior to this, Richard was group chief executive of LV= a leading financial services provider and a mutual where he worked as an executive member of the board for 13 years. Richard left LV= at the end of 2019 following the sale of the General Insurance business to the Allianz Group. Richard had led the business to win the Moneywise Most Trusted Life Insurer award as well as YouGov's UK's Most Recommended Insurer. Prior to his position as chief executive officer he had been managing director of the group's Life & Pensions business which he successfully turned into one of the UK's leading Protection and Retirement specialist companies. Prior to his time at LV= Richard held various chief operating officer and risk roles across Barclays corporate and retail banking. Richard holds a first-class degree in Geography from the University of Leeds, an MBA from Henley Business School and has completed the Harvard Management Programme in 2006.
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.
Member of the Audit Committee, the Risk Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Management Evaluation Committee.
Joanne has over 35 years' experience in financial and professional services. She is currently independent non-executive chair of Made Tech Group plc, the AIM-listed leading provider of digital, data and technology services to the UK public sector, independent non-executive deputy chairman of Main Market-listed land promotion, property development and investment, and construction group, Henry Boot PLC, and is an independent NED at AIM-listed Gateley Holdings plc, the legal and professional services group, and Braemar Shipping Services PLC, an established international provider of shipping, marine and energy services. Joanne is a Chartered Accountant and has previously held senior roles at UK investment banks including Panmure Gordon, Evolution Securities and Williams de Broe and in audit and business advisory services with PwC. Joanne is a Fellow of the ICAEW and a member of its Corporate Finance Faculty and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.
At each meeting at which the Company's financial statements are presented to its members, the Company is required to appoint an auditor to serve until the next such meeting. The Board, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, recommends the re-election of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and this will be proposed to the AGM as Resolution 8. Resolution 9 authorises the Audit Committee to determine the remuneration of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors.
Resolution 10 will, if approved, authorise the Directors generally and unconditionally, in addition to all subsisting authorities, to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot Ordinary Shares, and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into Ordinary Shares for any purpose, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £34,973.43, such authority to apply until the end of next year's AGM (or, if earlier, until the close of business on 31 August 2023) but, in each case, during this period the Company may make offers and enter into agreements which would, or might, require Ordinary Shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert securities into Ordinary Shares to be granted after the authority ends and the Board may allot Ordinary Shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities into Ordinary Shares under any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not ended.
Resolution 11, in addition to any authority granted pursuant to Resolution 10, will, if approved, authorise the Directors generally and unconditionally to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot Ordinary Shares, and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into Ordinary Shares for any purpose, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £34,973.43, such authority to apply until the end of next year's AGM (or, if earlier, until the close of business on 31 August 2023), but, in each case, during this period the Company may make offers and enter into agreements which would, or might, require Ordinary Shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert securities into Ordinary Shares to be granted after the authority ends and the Board may allot Ordinary Shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities into Ordinary Shares under any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not ended.
The Directors wish to use their authorities under Resolutions 10 and 11 to ensure that the Company is able to take advantage of investment opportunities identified by its investment manager (in accordance with the Company's investment objective) as and when they arise. The Directors remain focused on delivering the Company's investment objective and are also mindful of the likely benefit to all members of increasing the market liquidity in the Company's shares and of reducing the Company's administrative expenses on a per share basis by increasing the number of Ordinary Shares in issue.
The Directors may exercise their authorities to allot shares during the forthcoming period of twelve months, in whole or in part, to raise additional capital primarily for the purpose of acquiring investments sourced by the Company's investment manager in line with the Company's investment policy. Under the Act, the Company is restricted from issuing shares on a non-pre-emptive basis unless permitted pursuant to a special resolution of the Company of the sort proposed in Resolutions 12 and 13. Under both Resolutions 12 and 13, the Directors may only issue shares on a non-pre-emptive basis at a gross price which is at least equal to the latest published net asset value per existing Ordinary Share at the time of their issue. Taken together, these factors mean that the Directors must issue shares in a manner which enables investors to avoid dilution to the then prevailing net asset value attributable to their shares. The Directors therefore believe that it will promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole to have flexibility to issue new Ordinary Shares up to an aggregate maximum nominal amount of £69,946.86 (equal to approximately 20.00 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 10 May 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of the Notice of AGM).
These authorities will expire (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked) on the conclusion of the 2023 annual general meeting of the Company (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 31 August 2023).
Resolution 12 is a special resolution which is being proposed to authorise the Directors to disapply the pre-emption rights of existing shareholders in relation to issues of Ordinary Shares under Resolution 10 (being in respect of Ordinary Shares up to an aggregate nominal value of £34,973.43 representing up to approximately 10.00 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at the date of the Notice of AGM).
No issuance of Ordinary Shares without pre-emption rights will be made at a price less than the latest published net asset value per Ordinary Share at the time of issue.
Resolution 13 is also a special resolution which is being proposed in addition to Resolution 12 to authorise the Directors to disapply the pre-emption rights of existing shareholders in relation to issues of Ordinary Shares under Resolution 11 (being in respect of Ordinary Shares up to an aggregate nominal value of £34,973.43, representing up to approximately 10.00 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at 10 May 2022), provided that in the case of any Ordinary Shares allotted the issue price is no lower than the latest published net asset value per Ordinary Share (as calculated in accordance with the Company's policies existing from time to time). In the event that both Resolutions 12 and 13 are passed, the Directors will have authority to disapply the pre-emption rights of existing shareholders in relation to issues of Ordinary Shares up to an aggregate nominal amount of £69,946.86, which represents approximately 20.00 per cent. of issued ordinary share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 10 May 2022.
These authorities under Resolutions 12 and 13 will expire (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked) on the conclusion of the 2023 annual general meeting of the Company (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 31 August 2023).
Resolution 14 is a special resolution that will grant the Company authority to make market purchases of up to 5,242,517 of its own Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 14.99 per cent. of the Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) as at 10 May 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of the Notice of AGM). The Ordinary Shares bought back will either be cancelled or placed into treasury at the determination of the Directors.
The maximum price which may be paid per Ordinary Share is the higher of: (i) 5 per cent. above the average of the middle market value of an Ordinary Share of the Company for the five business days immediately preceding the day of purchase; and (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent trade of an Ordinary Share and the highest current independent purchase bid for an Ordinary Share. The minimum price which may be paid for each Ordinary Share is £0.01.
At the annual general meeting of the Company held on 8 June 2021, a special resolution was proposed and passed giving the Directors authority, until the conclusion of the 2022 annual general meeting, to make market purchases of the Company's own issued shares up to a maximum of 14.99 per cent. of the issued share capital.
The Board is proposing that it should be given renewed authority to purchase Ordinary Shares in the market. The Directors may exercise the authority granted under this resolution if they consider it to be likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole, which may include addressing any significant imbalance between the supply and demand for the Company's Ordinary Shares and to manage a discount to net asset value at which the Ordinary Shares trade. Purchases would be made in accordance with the provisions of the Act. This authority shall expire on the conclusion of the 2023 annual general meeting of the Company (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 31 August 2023) when a resolution to renew the authority will be proposed. The Directors currently intend that any Ordinary Shares repurchased would be held in treasury, subject to applicable law and regulation.
The Company has implemented two share buyback programmes, the first as announced on 10 August 2020 and the second as announced on 21 March 2022 (and extended on 29 April 2022). Following these share buyback programmes (the second of which is ongoing), as at 10 May 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of the Notice of AGM), 4,476,485 treasury shares were held by the Company.
Under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code") when:
that person together with the persons acting in concert with him, is normally required to extend offers in cash, at the highest price paid by him (or any persons acting in concert with him) for shares in the company within the preceding 12 months, to the holders of any class of equity share capital whether voting or non-voting and also to the holders of any other class of transferable securities carrying voting rights.
Rule 37 of the Code states that when a company redeems or purchases its own voting shares, any resulting increase in the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which a person or group of persons acting in concert is interested will be treated as an acquisition for the purposes of Rule 9. However, Note 1 of Rule 37.1 states that a person who comes to exceed the limits in Rule 9.1 in consequence of a company's redemption or purchase of its own shares will not normally incur an obligation to make a mandatory offer unless that person is a director, or the relationship of the person with any one or more of the directors is such that the person is, or is presumed to be, acting in concert with any of the directors. A person who has appointed a representative to the board of the company, and investment managers of investment trusts, will be treated for these purposes as a director.
As at 28 April 2022, Quilter plc ("Quilter") indirectly held 28.6 per cent. of the voting rights of the Company. If the proposed buy-back authority were to be used in full, the repurchase of Ordinary Shares could result in Quilter indirectly holding 33.6 per cent. of the reduced voting rights of the Company (assuming that the relevant Quilter shareholding entities did not sell any Ordinary Shares in connection with the exercise).
The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel") must be consulted in advance in any case where Rule 9 of the Code might be relevant. The Company has consulted with the Panel in relation to the proposed buy-back authority. The Panel has confirmed on an ex parte basis to the Company that, provided that Quilter is not acting in concert with the Company or any of its directors and has not appointed a representative to the board of the Company (such that they should be treated as "innocent bystanders" in relation to any increase in their holdings of shares in the Company as a result of an on-market share buyback, as per Note 1 of Rule 37.1 of the Takeover Code), the Panel will not require Quilter, nor any person presumed to be acting in concert with it, to make a mandatory offer under Rule 9 of the Code on the grounds that its or their interest in the ordinary share capital of the Company has increased as a result only of the purchase by the Company of its own shares pursuant to the authority conferred by Resolution 14.
Resolution 15 is a special resolution that will give the Directors the ability to convene general meetings, other than annual general meetings, on a minimum of 14 clear days' notice. The minimum notice period for annual general meetings will remain at 21 clear days. This authority would provide the Company with flexibility where action needs to be taken quickly but will only be used where the Directors consider it in the best interests of shareholders to do so and the matter to be considered is required to be dealt with expediently. The approval will be effective until the 2023 annual general meeting of the Company, at which time it is intended that renewal will be sought.
The following notes explain your general rights as a shareholder and your right to vote at this AGM or to appoint someone else to vote on your behalf.
CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001.
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