Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Sep 21, 2022
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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This document is important and requires your immediate attention.
If you are in any doubt about the action you should take, you should seek your own personal financial advice from your stockbroker, bank, solicitor, fund manager or other independent financial adviser, which, if you are taking advice in the United Kingdom, is duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or an appropriately authorised independent financial adviser if you are in a territory outside the United Kingdom.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred your shares in NCC Group plc, please forward this document to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through which the sale or transfer was effected, for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
The Board recognises that the AGM provides an important opportunity to engage with shareholders. Therefore, the Company will ensure that shareholders can submit any questions in writing prior to the AGM. Shareholders may submit a question, by writing to investor_relations@ nccgroup.com with details of their name, shareholding and question by 1.00 pm on 31 October 2022. Only questions from registered shareholders of the Company will be accepted.
In the event that the Government re-introduces restrictions as we have seen before in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and the arrangements for the meeting have to be changed, information will be released via the RNS and placed on the Company's website.
The result of the poll vote will be made available as soon as possible after the meeting on our website.
(Registered in England with company registration number 4627044)
(the 'Company')
Registered office:
XYZ Building 2 Hardman Boulevard Spinningfields Manchester M3 3AQ
Dear shareholder
I am pleased to invite you to attend the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held at the offices of NCC Group plc, XYZ Building, 2 Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AQ, at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 2 November 2022.
The formal notice of AGM (the 'Notice') is set out on pages 4 and 5 and the explanatory notes on each resolution to be considered at this year's AGM appear on pages 1 to 3.
Whether or not you intend to come to the AGM, please complete and return the proxy form we have sent to you. The Company's Registrar, Equiniti, must receive the completed proxy form, at the address on the form, by no later than 1.00 pm on Monday 31 October 2022. Alternatively you can vote using our CREST proxy voting service following the procedures set out in the CREST Manual. You will still be able to vote on the day of the AGM but if you have already submitted a proxy form, this will only be necessary if you intend to change the voting instructions given on your proxy form.
To vote, please complete and return the proxy form we have sent to you. The Company's Registrar, Equiniti, must receive the completed proxy form, at the address on the form, by no later than 1.00 pm on Monday 31 October 2022. Alternatively, you can vote using our CREST proxy voting service following the procedures set out in the CREST Manual.
The directors of the Company (the 'Directors') believe that the resolutions set out in the Notice are likely to promote the success of the Company and are in the best interests of the Company and of the shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, they recommend you vote in favour of each resolution as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings in the Company.
Yours faithfully
Chris Stone Chair
Resolutions 1 to 14 (inclusive) and resolutions 19 to 23 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions. This means that, for each of those resolutions to be passed, more than 50% of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Resolutions 15 to 18 (inclusive) will be proposed as special resolutions. This means that, for each of those resolutions to be passed, not less than 75% of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution.
The Directors will present to the shareholders at the AGM the accounts for the year ended 31 May 2022, together with the Strategic Report and the reports of the Directors and the auditor.
The Directors' Remuneration Report is included in full on pages 106 to 127 of the Company's 2022 Annual Report and Accounts (the '2022 Annual Report') and provides details of the remuneration paid to the Directors in respect of the year ended 31 May 2022. For the purposes of this resolution, this does not include the parts of the Directors' Remuneration Report containing the Directors' remuneration policy, which is set out on pages 121 to 127.
In accordance with the Companies Act 2006 (the 'Companies Act'), this resolution to approve the Directors' Remuneration Report (other than the Directors' remuneration policy) is advisory only and therefore no entitlement to remuneration is conditional on it.
Final dividends are to be approved by shareholders. However, they cannot be more than the amount the Board recommends. The Board is recommending a final dividend of 3.15p per ordinary share for the year ended 31 May 2022. If shareholders approve the recommended dividend, it will be paid on 11 November 2022 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 14 October 2022.
The auditor of the Company is required to be appointed or reappointed at each AGM at which accounts are presented. An assessment of the effectiveness, independence and objectivity of the auditor has been undertaken by the Audit Committee, which has recommended to the Board that KPMG LLP be reappointed as auditor. The Board confirms that: (1) the recommendation is free from influence by a third party; and (2) no contractual term of the kind mentioned in Article 16(6) of the EU Regulation 537/2014 has been imposed on the Company. Accordingly, shareholder approval is being sought pursuant to resolution 4 to reappoint KPMG LLP as auditor of the Company.
Resolution 5 proposes that the Audit Committee be authorised to determine the level of the auditor's remuneration.
Under the Company's Articles of Association (the 'Articles'), Directors appointed by the Board are required to submit themselves for election at the first AGM following their appointment. Also, in accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code every other Director will stand for re-election at the AGM.
Biographical details of each Director standing for election or re-election can be found on pages 78 and 79 of the 2022 Annual Report together with their skills and experience which support the reasons why their contributions are, and continue to be, important to the Company's long-term sustainable success.
The Board supports the election or re-election of each Director, as it believes that the particular knowledge and experience of each Director, as described in their biographies as set out in the 2022 Annual Report, assist in ensuring that the Board has an appropriate balance of skills and experience for the requirements of the business. The Board has confirmed, following a performance review, that each of the Directors standing for election or re-election continues to perform effectively and demonstrates commitment to their role. The Board has considered whether each of the Non Executive Directors is free of any relationship that could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgement and has determined that each Non-Executive continues to be considered independent.
Generally, the Directors may only allot shares in the Company (or grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, shares in the Company) if they have been authorised to do so by shareholders.
Resolution 14 renews a similar authority given at last year's AGM and is in two parts.
In line with guidance issued by the Investment Association, if passed, paragraph 14(a) of resolution 14 will authorise the Directors to allot shares in the Company (and to grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, shares in the Company) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,033,575 (representing 103,357,500 ordinary shares). This amount represents approximately one-third of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 5 September 2022 (being the latest practicable date before the publication of this document).
In addition, if passed, paragraph 14(b) of resolution 14 will authorise the Directors to allot ordinary shares in the Company (and to grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, ordinary shares in the Company) in connection with a rights issue only up to a further aggregate nominal amount of £1,033,575 (representing 103,357,500 ordinary shares). This amount represents approximately one-third of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 5 September 2022 (being the latest practicable date before the publication of this document).
If given, these authorities will expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the Company's 2023 AGM, or 1 February 2024. It is the Directors' intention to renew the allotment authority each year.
As at the date of this document, no ordinary shares are held by the Company in treasury.
The Directors have no current intention of allotting new ordinary shares other than in relation to the Company's share schemes. However, the Directors consider that it is in the best interests of the Company to have the authorities available so that they have the maximum flexibility permitted by institutional shareholder guidelines to allot shares without the need for a general meeting should they determine that it is appropriate to do so to respond to market developments or to take advantage of business opportunities as they arise. The Board recommends that this authority be renewed.
Generally, if the Directors wish to allot new shares or other equity securities (within the meaning of section 560 of the Companies Act 2006) for cash, then under the Companies Act 2006 they must first offer such shares or securities to shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. These statutory pre-emption rights may be disapplied by shareholders.
Resolutions 15 and 16, which will be proposed as special resolutions, will enable the Directors to allot equity securities for cash or sell treasury shares for cash without first offering them to shareholders pro rata to their existing holdings. The resolutions take a similar form to the resolutions passed at last year's AGM.
The powers proposed under resolution 15 will be limited to allotments or sales of ordinary shares:
This resolution renews the authority obtained at last year's AGM. If given, the authority granted under resolution 15 will expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the AGM of the Company to be held in 2023, or 1 February 2024.
The powers proposed under resolution 16 will be limited to allotments or sales of ordinary shares:
This resolution renews the authority obtained at last year's AGM. If given, the authority granted under resolution 16 will expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the AGM of the Company to be held in 2023, or 1 February 2024.
In accordance with the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, the Directors confirm that they do not intend to issue more than 7.5% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company on a non-pre-emptive basis (except in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment as referred to above) in any rolling three year period without prior consultation with shareholders. As noted in relation to resolution 14 above, the Directors have no current intention of issuing ordinary shares other than in relation to the Company's employee share schemes.
The Directors believe it is in the interests of the Company and its shareholders to have the flexibility to purchase its own shares and this resolution seeks authority from shareholders to do so.
Resolution 17, which will be proposed as a special resolution, renews a similar authority given at last year's AGM. The Directors presently have no intention of exercising the authority sought under resolution 17, but consider the authority desirable to provide maximum flexibility in the management of the Company's capital base. If passed, and in considering whether to use this authority, the Directors will take into account factors including the financial resources of the Company, the Company's share price and future funding opportunities. The Directors would only use this authority if they believed that to do so would result in an increase in earnings per share and promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole. If any purchases of ordinary shares are made pursuant to this authority, it is intended that such ordinary shares will either be cancelled, held in treasury or used to satisfy options exercised under the Company's share schemes, in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006. While held in treasury, the shares are not entitled to receive any dividend or dividend equivalent (apart from any issue of bonus shares) and have no voting rights. The Directors will have regard to institutional shareholder guidelines which may be in force at the time of any such purchase, holding or resale of shares held in treasury. Any purchases of ordinary shares would be by means of market purchases on the London Stock Exchange.
This resolution would be limited to 31,007,200 ordinary shares, representing approximately 10% of the issued equity share capital of the Company as at 5 September 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document). The authority also sets minimum and maximum prices at which shares may be bought. The renewed authority will remain in force until the earlier of the conclusion of the Company's 2023 AGM, or 1 February 2024. The Directors intend to seek renewal of this power at each AGM.
The total number of options to subscribe for ordinary shares for all share schemes of the Company which were outstanding as at 5 September 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document) was 11,756,526, which represents approximately 3.79% of the Company's issued share capital and would represent 4.21% of the Company's issued share capital if the full authority to repurchase ordinary shares as proposed by resolution 17 was exercised.
As at 5 September 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document), the Company holds no shares in treasury.
Resolution 18 enables the Company to hold general meetings (other than AGMs) on 14 clear days' notice. The Articles currently permit such notice period, but this resolution is required in order to comply with the Shareholders' Rights Regulations.
The Company intends only to use the shorter notice period where the flexibility would be helpful given the business of the meeting and where the Company considers it is to the advantage of the shareholders as a whole. In accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Company must make a means of electronic voting available to all shareholders for that meeting in order to be able to call a general meeting on less than 21 clear days' notice.
If passed, the resolution will be effective until the Company's next AGM, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
Resolution 19 deals with political donations. Under the Companies Act 2006, political donations to any political parties, independent election candidates or political organisations or the incurring of political expenditure are prohibited unless authorised by shareholders in advance. What constitutes a political donation, a political party, a political organisation or political expenditure is not easy to decide, as the legislation is capable of wide interpretation. Sponsorship, subscriptions, payment of expenses, paid leave for employees fulfilling public duties and support for bodies representing the business community in policy review or reform may fall within this.
Therefore, notwithstanding that the Company has not made a political donation in the past, and has no intention either now or in the future of making any political donation or incurring any political expenditure in respect of any political party, political organisation or independent election candidate, the Board has decided to put forward resolution 19. This will allow the Company to support the community and put forward its views to wider business and government entities without running the risk of being in inadvertent breach of the law. As permitted under the Companies Act 2006, resolution 19 also covers any political donations made, or political expenditure incurred, by any subsidiaries of the Company. This authority will expire at the end of the next AGM of the Company.
Resolutions 20 to 23 propose to approve the establishment of a new UK Sharesave Plan ("Sharesave Plan"), new International Sharesave Plan ("International Sharesave Plan"), new US Incentive Stock Option Plan ("ISO Plan") and new US Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") respectively (together the "New Incentive Plans").
The New Incentive Plans will replace the Company's existing Sharesave, International Sharesave, US Incentive Stock Option and US Employee Stock Purchase Plans. The existing UK Sharesave Plan and US Incentive Stock Option Plan will each expire in the next 12 months, and the opportunity is also being taken now to refresh the International Sharesave Plan and US Employee Stock Purchase Plan. As with the existing plans, each of the New Incentive Plans will enable employees and directors of the NCC group of companies ("Group") to acquire ordinary shares in the Company ("Shares").
The terms of the New Incentive Plans will be materially the same as the existing plans which they replace, save that:
The principal terms of the New Incentive Plans are summarised in the Appendix to this Notice of AGM.
Notice is hereby given that NCC Group plc (the 'Company') will hold its Annual General Meeting at the offices of NCC Group plc, XYZ Building, 2 Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AQ, at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 2 November 2022 to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions.
Resolutions 1 to 14 (inclusive) and resolutions 19 to 23 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 15 to 18 (inclusive) will be proposed as special resolutions. The Directors have determined that all the resolutions to be put to a vote at the AGM will be decided on a poll:
provided that this authority shall expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Company, or 1 February 2024, save that the Company shall be entitled to make offers or agreements before the expiry of such authority which would or might require shares to be allotted or Rights to be granted after such expiry and the Directors shall be entitled to allot shares and grant Rights pursuant to any such offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired and all unexercised authorities previously granted to the Directors to allot shares and grant Rights be and are hereby revoked.
and such power shall expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Company, or 1 February 2024, save that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after such expiry, and the Board may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of such an offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.
and such power shall expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Company, or 1 February 2024, save that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be
allotted or treasury shares to be sold after such expiry, and the Directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of such an offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.
and (unless revoked, varied or renewed) this authority shall expire on the earlier of the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Company, or 1 February 2024, provided that the Company may, before such expiry, make a contract to purchase its own shares which would or might be executed wholly or partly after such expiry, and the Company may make a purchase of its own shares in pursuance of such contract as if the authority hereby conferred had not expired.
(as such terms are defined in the Companies Act 2006) during the period beginning with the date of the passing of this resolution and ending at the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company provided that the authorised sum referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) above may be comprised of one or more amounts in different currencies which, for the purposes of calculating the said sum, shall be converted into Pounds Sterling at the exchange rate published in the London edition of the Financial Times on the date on which the relevant donation is made or expenditure incurred (or the first business day thereafter) or, if earlier, on the day in which the Company enters into any contract or undertaking in relation to the same
provided that, in any event, the aggregate amount of political donations and political expenditure made or incurred by the Company and its subsidiaries pursuant to this resolution shall not exceed £75,000.
By Order of the Board
Company Secretary 6 September 2022
Registered office: XYZ Building 2 Hardman Boulevard Spinningfields Manchester M3 3AQ
Summary of the principal terms of the New Incentive Plans
In this Appendix, words and expressions defined on page 3 of this Notice of Annual General Meeting shall have the same meaning unless the context requires otherwise.
The Sharesave Plan is intended to operate as a UK tax-advantaged savings-related share option plan pursuant to schedule 3 to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 pursuant to which eligible individuals may be offered options ("Options") to acquire Shares at a price determined by the Board which can be set at a discount of up to 20 per cent. of the market value of a Share at the date of the offer.
All UK resident directors who work at least 25 hours per week for any company within the Group and all UK resident employees, in each case who have been with the Group for a period determined by the Board (not exceeding five years), are eligible to participate. All employees who are eligible to participate must be permitted to do so on similar terms although participation may vary by reference to levels of remuneration, length of service or other similar factors.
Each participant must enter into a savings contract ("Contract") in a form approved by HMRC for a period of 3 or 5 years under which they agree to make monthly savings of an amount decided by them, subject to a minimum specified by the Board which may not exceed £10 (or such other minimum permitted by the legislation from time to time) and up to the maximum specified by the Board and permitted by the legislation (currently £500 per month).
The number of Shares over which a participant will be granted an Option will be the number of Shares which, taking into account the price payable to exercise the Option, can be purchased with the amount saved under the Contract (which, subject to applicable legislation and regulations, may include a bonus payable under the Contract).
Options may normally only be exercised during the period of six months following the maturity of the Contract (three or five years from its commencement, depending on the type of Contract) and if not exercised by the end of that period will lapse.
Early exercise of Options is permitted in the event of cessation of employment within the Group by reason of death, injury, disability, redundancy, retirement, or the sale of the participant's employing company or business out of the Group (but only to the extent of savings plus any bonus accumulated in the related Contract up to the time of exercise). If a participant ceases to be employed within the Group for any other reason within three years of the date of grant, their outstanding Options will lapse.
Early exercise is also permitted in the event of a takeover, compromise or arrangement, or voluntary winding up of the Company (but in each case, only to the extent of savings plus any bonus accumulated in the related Contract up to the time of exercise). On a takeover, or compromise or arrangement, with the consent of the acquiring company, Options may be exchanged so as to operate over shares in the acquiring company (or a company associated with it).
Options are not transferable and may only be exercised by the person to whom they are granted (or the personal representatives of any participant who has died).
The International Sharesave Plan is also a plan under which options to acquire Shares may be offered to eligible individuals. It will operate in a similar way to the Sharesave Plan, save that:
The ISO Plan is intended to enable options over Shares to be granted to US resident employees and directors of Group companies in a tax efficient manner.
Options granted under the ISO Plan are intended to qualify under section 422 of the US Tax Code as Incentive Stock Options ("ISOs") to the fullest extent possible, and to constitute nonqualified stock options taxed under section 83 of the US Tax Code to the extent granted in excess of the statutory limits or to persons ineligible under the US Tax Code to receive ISOs from the Company.
All US resident directors and employees of the Group are eligible to participate in the ISO Plan. Actual participation will be at the discretion of the Board.
The aggregate fair market value of shares with respect to which ISOs are exercisable for the first time by a participant during any calendar year under the ISO Plan and any other share option plans or schemes of the Company, or any subsidiary corporation shall not exceed \$100,000. Such fair market value shall be determined as of the date of grant of the ISO. In the event that the aggregate fair market value of shares with respect to ISOs exercisable for the first time by a participant during any calendar year exceeds \$100,000, then the excess ISOs granted will, to the extent and in the order in which they were granted, automatically be deemed to be "nonqualified stock options", but all other terms and provisions of such ISOs shall remain unchanged. Nonqualified stock options do not have beneficial tax treatment under the US Tax Code.
The aggregate fair market value (at the date of grant) of Shares under Options that may be granted to any one participant in any one financial year of the Company under the ISO Plan shall also not exceed the amount of that participant's remuneration (excluding benefits in kind) for that financial year (or the preceding financial year if greater). The Board may however make awards outside this limit where it considers the circumstances sufficiently exceptional to justify this.
The price per Share payable on exercise of an Option shall not be less than the higher of (i) the nominal value of a Share and (ii) the market value of a Share on the date of grant.
Options granted under the ISO Plan will normally be exercisable only within the period of three to 10 years after the date of grant (although the Board will have discretion to grant options with an exercise period commencing before the third anniversary of the grant date).
Options may be granted subject to objective conditions as to the performance of the Group which must normally be satisfied before Options can be exercised. Having granted Options and set a performance target, the Board may vary the performance target provided that the Board reasonably considers that the performance target originally set no longer represents a fair measure of performance and provided that any new conditions are no more difficult nor easy to satisfy.
Options may be exercised early where a participant's employment ceases due to their death, disability, redundancy or retirement. In each of these situations Options may be exercised until the earlier of (i) six months following the date of the cessation of employment (or 12 months in the case of death), and (ii) the expiry date of the Option. To the extent not so exercised, the Option will lapse.
Where, in these circumstances, exercise of an Option is permitted early, there is no requirement for any performance target to be met, but the Option may not be exercised in full, but only on a pro rata basis taking into account the period of time which has elapsed since the date of grant.
Where employment ceases for any other reason:
In either case, to the extent exercisable, the Option may be exercised within the period of six months following cessation (but no later than the expiry date of the Option).
Without further shareholder approval, the total number of Shares over which Options may be granted under the ISO Plan is 15 million Shares, subject to adjustment to reflect variations of share capital (and subject always to the overall dilution limit referred to below). This limit is included to meet the requirements of the ISOs legislation.
In the event of a change of control of the Company or certain other corporate events, Options may be exercised early, provided that if the event occurs before the normal exercise period has commenced, Options may only be exercised to the extent determined by the Board, having regard to all the circumstances. The Board may in its discretion determine that instead of being exercised, Options shall be cancelled for a cash payment in an amount equal to the difference between the value of the underlying shares and the exercise price. Alternatively, with the agreement of the acquiring company, Options may be exchanged for options over shares in the acquiring company or in a company associated with the acquiring company.
The ESPP is designed to enable eligible US resident employees of the Group to purchase Shares in a tax-efficient way. The ESPP is designed to meet the conditions of section 423 of the US Tax Code.
Under the ESPP, eligible employees will be granted options to purchase Shares ("Options") at a price fixed at the time the Option is granted. Options will be capable of being exercised on designated dates after a specified period has elapsed following the grant of the Options ("Option Period"). It is currently intended that each Option Period will be 12 months in duration, and that Options will be granted on a rolling basis every 12 months until the Board determines otherwise.
Participation in the ESPP will be limited to employees of certain designated US subsidiaries of the Company.
Purchases of Shares on behalf of participants in the ESPP will take place on the last dealing day of each Option Period or at such other times as may be determined by the Board ("Purchase Date"). At the Board's discretion, Shares may also be purchased in the market.
The amount payable by employees for Shares may not be less than 85% of their fair market value on the lower of (i) the first dealing day of the Option Period, and (ii) the Purchase Date. In practice, it is intended that the exercise price will be fixed at 85% of the fair market value of a Share on the first dealing day of the Option Period.
The purchase of Shares on behalf of participants is made utilising amounts credited to each participant's savings account by way of post-tax payroll deductions made by that participant's employer. In practice, it is intended that participants will be able to contribute, through payroll deduction, up to 10% of their eligible compensation to their savings accounts for this purpose. Deductions from payroll will be made during each month or such other periods as may be determined by the Board. As required by the US Tax Code, no employee will be able to acquire shares exceeding \$25,000 in value in any calendar year. In practice, it is intended that, as a further limit, the maximum number of shares that any participant will be permitted to acquire during any Option Period will be the number of whole shares determined by dividing £6,000 by the fair market value per Share on the first dealing day of the Option Period. This limit reflects the maximum annual amount which participants in the two Sharesave Plans may save in relation to the options granted under those Plans (and would be reviewed if the annual savings limits under those Plans are amended).
In the event of an employee's termination of employment within the Group for any reason prior to a Purchase Date, any outstanding Option shall forthwith lapse in full.
In the event of a change of control of the Company or certain other corporate events, the Option Period will terminate and (unless the Board in its discretion determines otherwise) Options may be exercised using the amounts credited up to that time in the participant's savings account. Alternatively, participants may choose to have such monies repaid to them.
Without further shareholder approval, the total number of Shares over which Options may be granted under the ESPP is 15 million Shares, subject to adjustment to reflect variations of share capital (and subject always to the overall dilution limit referred to below). This limit is included to meet the requirements of the ESPP legislation.
In any ten-year period, not more than ten per cent of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company may be issued or committed to be issued under all employee share plans operated by the Company.
Treasury Shares will be treated as new issue Shares for the purposes of these limits unless institutional investor guidelines cease to require such Shares to be so counted.
Options under the ISO Plan and ESPP may generally only be granted, and invitations under the Sharesave Plan and International Sharesave Plan may generally only be issued, within the period of 42 days after the day on which the Company announces its results for any period. Options may be granted or invitations issued (as the case may be) at any other time if the Board considers that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the grant or issue of an invitation at such other time. No options can be granted under any of the New Incentive Plans after the tenth anniversary of its approval by the Company's shareholders.
In the event of a variation of share capital by way of capitalisation, rights issue, sub-division, consolidation or reduction of share capital, the number of Shares over which any option under the New Incentive Plans has been granted and the price at which Shares may be acquired under such option shall be adjusted as determined by the Board to be appropriate.
The Board may alter the New Incentive Plans but certain amendments cannot take effect without shareholder approval, unless they are amendments to comply with or to take account of applicable legislation or statutory regulations or any change in them or to maintain favourable taxation treatment for the Company or participants or potential participants. The amendments which will generally require shareholder approval are amendments to: the overall Share limits under the New Incentive Plans, the individual participation limits, the eligibility criteria, the basis for determining a Participant's entitlement to, and the terms of, Shares or any other benefit to be provided under the New Incentive Plans, the provisions for altering share capital and for altering the terms of the New Incentive Plans and the provisions which apply on a winding up of the Company.
Any Shares issued pursuant to the New Incentive Plans will rank equally with Shares then in issue (except for rights arising by reference to a record date prior to the date of allotment).
None of the benefits which may be received under the New Incentive Plans will be pensionable.
In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a 'CREST Proxy Instruction') must be properly authenticated in accordance with CREST's specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual, which can be viewed at www.euroclear.com. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy, must, to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA19) by 1.00 pm on Monday 31 October 2022. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST Applications Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time any change of instructions
to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that there are no special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the 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.
If you are an institutional investor you may be able to appoint a proxy electronically via the Proxymity platform, a process which has been agreed by the Company and approved by the Registrar. For further information regarding Proxymity, please go to www.proxymity.io. Your proxy must be lodged by 1.00 pm on Monday 31 October 2022 in order to be considered valid. Before you can appoint a proxy via this process you will need to have agreed to Proxymity's associated terms and conditions. It is important that you read these carefully as you will be bound by them and they will govern the electronic appointment of your proxy.
If the AGM were to be adjourned for any reason, then only those shareholders registered in the Register at 6.30 pm on the day which is two working days prior to the day fixed for the adjourned meeting will be eligible to attend.
will be available for inspection at the registered office of the Company and at the offices of DLA Piper UK LLP, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT, during usual business hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excluded) from the date of this Notice until the date of the AGM and at the place of the AGM from at least 15 minutes prior to and until the conclusion of the AGM.
The Company may not require the shareholders requesting any such website publication to pay its expenses in complying with sections 527 or 528 of the Companies Act 2006. Where the Company is required to place a statement on a website under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006, it must forward the statement to the Company's auditor not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website. The business which may be dealt with at the AGM includes any statement that the Company has been required under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006 to publish on a website.
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