AGM Information • Jun 20, 2013
AGM Information
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If you are in any doubt about the action to be taken, you should immediately consult your bank manager, stockbroker, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser authorised pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares in British Smaller Companies VCT plc (the "Company"), please send this document and accompanying documents, as soon as possible, to the purchaser or transferee or to the stockbroker, independent financial adviser or other person through whom the sale or transfer was effected for delivery to the purchaser or transferee.
(Registered in England and Wales with registered number 03134749)
Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chairman of the Company set out on pages 3 to 4 which contains details of the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting.
You will find set out at the end of this document a notice of the General Meeting to be held on 19 July 2013 at 12.30 pm (or as soon as practicable thereafter as the Annual General Meeting has concluded or adjourned) to approve the Resolutions. The General Meeting will be held at 33 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4JS.
To be valid, the form of proxy accompanying this document for the meeting should be returned not less than 48 hours before the General Meeting, either by post or by hand to Capita Registrars Limited, PXS, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham BR3 4TU.
| Part I | — | Letter from the Chairman | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part II | — | Additional Information | 5 |
| Part III | — | Definitions | 7 |
| Part IV | — | Notice of General Meeting | 8 |
Saint Martins House 210-212 Chapeltown Road Leeds West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ 18 June 2013
Dear Shareholder
I am writing to you with details of a General Meeting ("GM") to be held at 33 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4JS on 19 July 2013 following the Annual General Meeting at 12.30 pm. The formal notice of GM is set out on pages 8 to 10 of this document.
This GM is being convened to address a technical issue that has arisen in respect of the special interim dividend of £6.429 million (18.00 pence per ordinary share) paid to the Company's shareholders ("Shareholders") on 22 August 2011 (the "Special Interim Dividend") and in respect of the final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2011 of £1.072 million (3.0 pence per ordinary share) which was also paid to Shareholders on 22 August 2011 (the "Final Dividend") (together the "Dividends").
Under the Companies 2006 Act (the "Act"), any distribution made by a company to its shareholders must not exceed the amount of distributable reserves reported in the last annual accounts of the company circulated to shareholders (known for these purposes as the "relevant accounts") or unaudited interim accounts ("Interim Accounts"), which in the case of a public company, need to have been properly prepared and filed with the Registrar of Companies before the dividend is declared or (in the case of an interim dividend) paid. Distributable reserves are broadly defined by the Act as being a company's accumulated net realised profits.
The relevant accounts for the purposes of the Dividends were the Company's audited accounts for the financial period ended 31 March 2011 (the "March 2011 Accounts") which showed that the Company had distributable reserves of £6.033 million. Additional distributable reserves became available to the Company after 31 March 2011 year end from the partial realisation of its investment in GO Outdoors Limited in April 2011. However, these additional distributable reserves were not technically available to satisfy the payment of the Dividends until the Company had prepared, and filed with the Registrar of Companies, Interim Accounts. The defined distributable reserves available to pay dividends as at 22 August 2011 were, therefore, £1.468 million lower than the amount required to cover payment of the Dividends and a part of the Dividends was paid in contravention of the Act.
To reiterate, although the Company did, in reality, have sufficient distributable reserves to cover the whole of the Dividends when they were paid on 22 August 2011, the Company had not prepared and filed with the Registrar of Companies Interim Accounts before the Dividends were declared (in the case of the Final Dividend) or paid (in the case of the Special Interim Dividend).
The Company's audited accounts for the financial period ended 31 March 2012 (the "March 2012 Accounts") have been prepared by the Company and filed with the Registrar of Companies and these show distributable reserves sufficient to allow the appropriation of reserves necessary to rectify the payment of the Dividends (following the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the partial realisation of its investment in GO Outdoors Limited). Accordingly, the payment of the Dividends by reference to the March 2011 Accounts, which was technically in breach of the Act, can now be remedied by the passing of the proposed Resolutions to approve the payment of the Dividends by reference to the March 2012 Accounts.
As a result of these breaches, the Company may have claims under the Act against present and past Shareholders who were recipients of the Dividends to recover from each of those Shareholders those parts of the Dividends paid to each such Shareholder as were technically paid in breach of the Act (being, in respect of all Shareholders, an aggregated amount of £1.468 million). However, the Company has been advised that any claims against Shareholders who received the dividend may be complicated by the need to show that the relevant Shareholders had knowledge of the lack of relevant accounts. The Company may also have claims against those Directors who participated at the board meetings at which the decisions were taken to pay the Dividends.
It is not the Company's intention to make any such claim against either the Shareholders or Directors. The Company has been advised by its external legal advisers that this matter can be remedied by the passing of the Resolutions, as set out in more detail below, to:
As the Directors' Deed of Release is to be entered into by the Company in favour of the Directors who authorised payment of the Dividends, and the Shareholders' Deed of Release is to be entered into by the Company in favour of Shareholders who received the Dividends, each will constitute a "related party transaction" under the Listing Rules, the entering into of which by the Company require Shareholder approval.
The Resolutions to be proposed at the GM, as a special resolution and an ordinary resolution respectively, are to:
A Form of Proxy in relation to the GM accompanies this document. You are asked to complete, sign and date this Form in accordance with the instructions printed on it and as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to be received by the Company's registrar, Capita Registrars, by no later than 48 hours before the time of the GM. Alternatively, for shares held through CREST, you may register your proxy appointment and voting instructions through the CREST proxy voting system.
Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the GM and voting in person if you wish to do so.
The quorum for the GM is three Shareholders present in person or by proxy. Resolution 1 is proposed as a special resolution which is required to be passed by a majority of not less than 75 per cent of the votes cast and Resolution 2 is proposed as an ordinary resolution required to be passed by a majority of not less than 50 per cent of the votes cast.
The Board considers that the approval of Resolution 1 is in the best interests of the Shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommends you to vote in favour of Resolution 1, as they intend doing in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings in the Company which, at the date of this Circular, total 67,181 Ordinary Shares (representing approximately 0.1% of the issued Ordinary Shares).
The Directors will not be voting on Resolution 2 or providing a recommendation as to how Shareholders should vote on Resolution 2 in view of their interest in the subject matter of that resolution. However, the Board of the Company unanimously recommends that Shareholders exercise their right to vote on Resolution 2.
Yours sincerely
Helen Sinclair Chairman
The Company, and the Directors whose names appear below, accept responsibility for the information contained in this document. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the Company and the Directors (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case) the information contained in this document is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.
Helen Sinclair (Chairman) Philip Cammerman Edward Buchan
The registered office of the Company is Saint Martins House, 210-212 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ.
As at 17 June 2013 (being the latest practicable date before publication of this Circular) there were 49,790,915 issued Ordinary Shares, each ranking pari passu. All of the Ordinary Shares are listed on the Official List of the UKLA. The Company holds an additional 3,215,658 Shares in the treasury account.
3.1 The interests of the Directors, or persons connected with such Directors, (all of which are beneficial unless otherwise stated) in the issued share capital of the Company as at 17 June 2013 (being the latest practicable date before publication of this Circular) were:
| Director | Ordinary Shares |
|---|---|
| Helen Sinclair | 17,004 |
| Philip Cammerman | 44,614 |
| Edward Buchan | 5,563 |
3.2 Save as disclosed above, no Director nor (so far as is known to the relevant Director) any person connected with a Director has any interest in the share capital of the Company.
As at 17 June 2013 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this Circular) the Directors were not aware of any holdings of 3% or more of the Company's issued share capital or of any person who, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, exercises control over the Company.
Under the IAA, YFM Private Equity is entitled to receive an annual investment advisory fee of 2% of the gross assets of the Company (as determined on 31 March and 30 September each year), payable quarterly in advance on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October in each year together with an annual secretarial fee of £35,000 per annum plus an annual adjustment to reflect movements in the Retail Prices Index. YFM Private Equity is also entitled to all arrangement, syndication and monitoring fees payable in respect of unquoted investments. The Company indemnifies YFM Private Equity against all things lawfully and properly done under the IAA. Pursuant to the deed of variation dated 16 November 2012, YFM Private Equity agrees to indemnify the Company to the extent that its total annual running costs, including the investment advisory fee, exceeds 3.25% (excluding trail commission, VAT and any payment of performance incentive fees) of the gross assets of the Company.
5.1.2 An incentive agreement (the "Incentive Agreement") dated 7 July 2009 between the Company, the YFM Private Equity Carried Interest Trust (an employee benefit trust established for the benefit of employees of YFM Private Equity) and YFM Private Equity under which, with effect from 1 April 2009 ("Effective Date") YFM Private Equity is entitled to receive a fee, calculated by reference to each accounting period of the Company, equal to 20% of the amount by which dividends paid to Shareholders exceed 4 pence per Share per accounting period (as increased or decreased, as applicable, in each accounting period by the percentage increase or decrease (if any) in the retail prices index in the previous accounting period) ("Target Rate"), once cumulative dividends per Share of 10 pence or more have been paid to Shareholders. The Target Rate is further adjusted by reference to any cumulative shortfall in dividends paid per Share from any previous accounting period after the Effective Date. The payment is also conditional upon the net asset value per Share in the relevant accounting period being not less than 94 pence per Share. A compensatory payment is due if the Incentive Agreement is terminated without cause or if the Company is taken over. The compensatory payment is calculated as a percentage of the fee that would otherwise be payable under the Incentive Agreement by reference to the accounting period following the Incentive Agreement being so terminated. 80% is payable in the first accounting period after such event, 55% in the second, 35% in the third, and nil thereafter. The maximum fee payable in any 12 month period cannot exceed an amount which would represent 25% or more of the net asset value or market capitalisation of the Company at such time.
None of the Directors has a service contract with the Company and the services of the Directors are provided to the Company pursuant to letters of appointment, under which they are required to devote such time to the affairs of the Company as the Board reasonably requires consistent with their role as a non-executive director.
The Directors are each currently entitled to receive the following annual fees:
| Director | £ |
|---|---|
| Helen Sinclair | 35,000 |
| Philip Cammerman | 20,000 |
| Edward Buchan | 20.000 |
| 75,000 |
Since 30 September 2012 (being the end of the last financial period of the Company for which unaudited interim financial information has been published), there has been no significant change in the financial or trading position of the Company.
Copies of the following documents will be available for inspection from the date of this Circular until the conclusion of the General Meeting during normal business hours and on any weekday (Saturdays and public holidays excepted) at the registered office of the Company at Saint Martins House, 210-212 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ:
Date 17 June 2013
| "Annual General Meeting" | the annual general meeting of the Company which will be held at 33 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4JS at 12.00 noon on 19 July 2013; |
|---|---|
| "Board" or "Directors" | Helen Sinclair, Philip Cammerman and Edward Buchan; |
| the "Circular" | this document; |
| the "Company" | British Smaller Companies VCT plc, registered with the Registrar of Companies of England and Wales with registered number 03134749 and whose registered office is Saint Martins House, 210-212 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ; |
| "Directors' Deed of Release" | a deed of release to be entered into by the Company in favour of Directors who approved the payment of the Dividends; |
| "Dividends" | the Special Interim Dividend and the Final Dividend; |
| "Final Dividend" | the final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2011 of £1.072 million (3.0 pence per ordinary share) paid to the Shareholders on 22 August 2011; |
| "General Meeting" or "GM" | the general meeting of the Company to be held on 19 July 2013 (or any adjournment thereof); |
| "Interim Accounts" | unaudited interim accounts demonstrating sufficient distributable reserves prior to payment of such dividend; |
| "March 2011 Accounts" | the Company's audited accounts for the financial period ended 31 March 2011; |
| "March 2012 Accounts" | the Company's audited accounts for the financial period ended 31 March 2012; |
| "Listing Rules" | the listing rules of the UKLA; |
| "Resolutions" | the resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting; |
| "Shareholders" | holders of Shares; |
| "Shareholders' Deed of Release" | a deed of release to be entered into by the Company in favour of both past and present Shareholders who received the Dividends; |
| "Shares" or "Ordinary Shares" | ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the capital of the Company; |
| "Special Interim Dividend" | the special interim dividend of £6.429 million (18.0 pence per ordinary share) paid to the Shareholders on 22 August 2011; |
| "UKLA" or "UK Listing Authority" | the UK Listing Authority, being the Financial Conduct Authority acting in its capacity as the competent authority for the purpose of Part VI of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; |
| "VCT" | a venture capital trust as defined in section 272 Income Taxes Act 2007; and |
| "YFM Private Equity" | YFM Private Equity Limited, registered with the Registrar of Companies of England and Wales with registered number 04195617 and whose registered office is Saint Martins House, 210-212 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ. |
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a General Meeting of British Smaller Companies VCT plc (the "Company") will be held at 33 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4JS at 12.30 pm on 19 July 2013 (or as soon as practicable thereafter as the Annual General Meeting has concluded or adjourned) to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following Resolutions which will be proposed as a special resolution as to Resolution 1 and as an ordinary resolution as to Resolution 2:
(2) THAT, conditional on the passing of Resolution 1 set out in the Notice of General Meeting convening this Meeting, any and all claims which the Company may have against its directors arising out of the payment of the Dividends be released and that a deed of release in favour of those directors be entered into by the Company in the form of the deed produced to this Meeting and signed by the Chairman for the purposes of identification.
For the purposes of this notice, words and expressions defined in the Circular shall have the same meanings in this notice, save where the context requires otherwise.
KHM Secretarial Services Limited Secretary
Registered Office: Saint Martins House, 210-212 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4HZ
Information regarding the General Meeting, including the information required by section 311A of the Act, is available from www.yfmep.com
18 June 2013
(h) If you are a person who has been nominated under section 146 of the Companies Act 2006 to enjoy information rights ("Nominated Person"):
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 Euroclear UK & Ireland's specifications, and must contain the information required for such instruction, as described in the CREST Manual (available via www.euroclear.com/CREST). The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or is an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA10) not less than 48 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays) before the time of the meeting. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the time stamp applied to the message by the CREST Application 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.
For use at the General Meeting of the above named Company
to be held at 33 St James Square, London, SW1Y 4JS on 19 July 2013 at 12.30pm
(or as soon as practicable thereafter as the Annual General Meeting has concluded or adjourned).
| I/We* | |
|---|---|
| -- | ------- |
(in BLOCK CAPITALS please)
| of | |
|---|---|
being a member of the above named Company, hereby appoint the Chairman of the General Meeting (see note 2)
or or
as my/our* proxy to vote for me/us* on my/our* behalf at the General Meeting of the Company to be held as detailed above or at any adjournment thereof.
Number of ordinary shares proxy is appointed over
Please tick here if you are appointing more than one proxy
I/We* desire to vote on the Resolutions as indicated in the appropriate column below. Please indicate with an "X" how you wish your vote to be cast.
Details of the Resolutions are set out in the Notice of the General Meeting
| FOR | AGAINST | WITHHELD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPECIAL RESOLUTION 1. To rectify and ratify the payment of the Dividends, which were made in breach of the Act, and approve the release of the Shareholders from any claims arising out of the receipt of the Dividends. |
|||
| ORDINARY RESOLUTION | |||
| 2. To approve the release of the Directors from any claims arising out of the payment of the Dividends. |
| Dated this | day of | 2013* |
|---|---|---|
Signature(s)
Saint Martins House T: 0113 294 5000 210-212 Chapeltown Road F: 0113 294 5002 Leeds LS7 4HZ E: [email protected]
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