Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Apr 9, 2015
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own personal advice from your stockbroker, accountant or other independent professional adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
If you have sold or transferred all your shares in Computacenter plc, you should forward this document and other documents enclosed as soon as possible to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
Computacenter plc Registered in England No: 3110569
Registered Office Hatfield Avenue Hatfield Hertfordshire AL10 9TW
9 April 2015
I am pleased to be writing to you with details of our 2015 Annual General Meeting ('AGM'), which will be held on Tuesday 19 May 2015 at 11.00am, at Computacenter House, 93-101 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HL.
Attached on pages 2 to 4 is the Notice setting out the business to be conducted at this year's AGM. An explanation of the business of the AGM can be found at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, starting on page 5.
If you are unable to attend the AGM in person, you can appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of your rights to attend, vote and speak at the AGM, and further information on the required process is detailed under the section on this page entitled 'Action to be taken – Form of Proxy'.
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board has decided that all of the Directors will offer themselves for election or re-election, and resolutions 4a to 4g are to elect or re-elect them as Directors. Brief biographies of all of the Directors standing for election or re-election at the forthcoming AGM can be found on pages 46 and 47 of the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts.
Since the Company's 2014 AGM, the Board and each of its Directors has been subject to a formal evaluation process, further details of which can be found within the Corporate Governance report on pages 48 to 53 of the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts. I am pleased to confirm that the performance of each Director continues to be effective and that all are able to demonstrate continued commitment to their respective roles as members of the Board and, where relevant, its Committees.
The Computacenter Performance Share Plan 2005 (the 'PSP') has been the main vehicle for the grant of long-term share incentives to senior executives since 2005 and has been very successful. However, it is due to expire and so approval is being sought at the AGM for the extension of that plan, subject to some changes, for a further 10 years.
The main change to the PSP is that the Remuneration Committee will now be able to reduce or delay payment of unvested awards or claim repayment of awards already paid out in certain circumstances such as on a mis-statement of results or a failure of risk management. A number of other changes are being made to bring the plan into line with current legislation or market practice, but these changes do not require shareholder approval. The key terms of the PSP, amended as proposed, are summarised in Appendix 2 to the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
You will find enclosed a Form of Proxy for use at the AGM. Please complete, sign and return the Form of Proxy as soon as possible in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. The Form of Proxy should be returned to Equiniti, the Company's Registrar, as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to be received not later than 11.00am on Friday 15 May 2015.
Alternatively, shareholders may register proxy vote instructions by electronic means. If you wish to register your voting instructions in this way, please refer to the guidance set out in notes 6 to 8 to the Notice of AGM on page 4. Communications giving voting instructions by electronic means must be received by Equiniti not later than 11.00am on Friday 15 May 2015.
The Directors consider that the proposals being put to the shareholders at the AGM are in the best interests of the Company and of the shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors recommend that you vote in favour of the resolutions set out in the attached Notice of AGM, as they intend to do in respect of their own interests (both beneficial and nonbeneficial) amounting to 53,063,611 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 43.26 per cent of the Company's issued share capital (as at 25 March 2015).
Greg Lock Chairman
Notice is hereby given that the AGM of Computacenter plc will be held at 11.00am on Tuesday 19 May 2015 at Computacenter House, 93-101 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HL for the following purposes:
To approve the extension of the Computacenter Performance Share Plan 2005, referred to in the Chairman's Letter, for a further 10 years from the date of the AGM, and the amendments to the rules of that plan summarised in Appendix 2 to the Notice of AGM and produced in draft to this Meeting and (for the purposes of identification) initialled by the Chairman, and to approve that the directors be authorised to establish further plans for the benefit of employees outside the UK based on that plan subject to such modifications as may be necessary or desirable to take account of securities laws, exchange control and tax legislation provided that any ordinary shares of the Company made available under such further plans are treated as counting against any limits on individual participation or overall participation in the main plan.
To consider and if thought fit, pass the following resolutions:
d) this authority shall expire at the conclusion of the AGM of the Company held in 2016, unless such authority is renewed prior to that time (except in relation to the purchase of ordinary shares, the contract for which was concluded before the expiry of such authority and which might be executed wholly or partly after such expiry).
As a Special Resolution: that a general meeting (other than an AGM) may be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice, and that this authority shall expire at the conclusion of the AGM of the Company held in 2016.
Hatfield Avenue Hatfield Hertfordshire AL10 9TW
By order of the Board
Simon Pereira Company Secretary 25 March 2015
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(s) through other means.
CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited does not make available 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 or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his/her 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.
Computacenter plc may treat as invalid any CREST Proxy Instruction it receives which falls within the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertified Securities Regulations 2001.
The business of the AGM will start with a resolution to lay before the shareholders, the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014 and the reports of the Directors and Auditor thereon. Shareholders who attend the AGM will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the financial statements and the reports, prior to the resolution being proposed at the AGM.
Page 63 and pages 67 to 74 of the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts constitute the Annual Statement by the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and the Annual Remuneration report respectively for the year ended 31 December 2014, which shareholders are now being asked to approve. This is an advisory vote, and will not affect the actual remuneration paid to any individual Director.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 13.1 pence per ordinary share, in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014. Members will be asked to approve this payment and if approved, the dividend will be payable on 19 June 2015, to those shareholders on the register of members at the close of business on 22 May 2015.
These resolutions deal with the election and re-election of Directors and the reasons for their election or re-election can be found within the Letter to Shareholders from the Chairman, Greg Lock. Biographies of each of the Directors standing for election and re-election can be found on pages 46 and 47 of the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts. With the exception of himself, the Chairman confirms that the performance of all of the Directors standing for election or re-election continues to be effective. Please note that as explained in the Company's 2014 Annual Report and Accounts, Minnow Powell will be standing for election to the Board for the first time, whilst Brian McBride and John Ormerod will have stepped down from the Board by the time of the AGM. The Non-Executive Directors confirm that the performance of the Chairman continues to be effective.
Shareholders are being asked to confirm the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's Auditor, to hold office until the conclusion of the next AGM. This proposed change of Auditor was announced by the Company on 28 July 2014.
This resolution asks shareholders to authorise the Directors to set the Auditor's remuneration.
The Computacenter Performance Share Plan 2005 (the 'PSP') has been the main vehicle for the grant of long-term share incentives to senior executives since 2005 and has been very successful. However, it is due to expire and so approval is being sought at the AGM for the extension of that plan, subject to some changes, for a further 10 years.
The main change to the PSP is that the Remuneration Committee will now be able to reduce or delay payment of unvested awards or claim repayment of awards already paid out in certain circumstances such as on a mis-statement of results or a failure of risk management. A number of other changes are being made to bring the plan into line with current legislation or market practice but these changes do not require shareholder approval. The key terms of the PSP, amended as proposed, are summarised in Appendix 2 to the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
Copies of the rules of the PSP may be inspected at the offices of Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street, London EC2Y 8HQ during usual business hours on weekdays (Saturdays and public holidays excluded) until the date of the meeting and also at the place of the general meeting for at least 15 minutes prior to, and during, the meeting.
This resolution asks shareholders to renew, by Ordinary Resolution, the Directors' authority under Section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 to allot unissued shares and to grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, shares in the Company. This resolution, as well as resolutions 9 and 10, are similar to the resolutions passed in previous years. This renewed authority will, if granted, expire at the conclusion of the AGM held in 2016 or, if earlier, on 30 June 2016, although offers or agreements can be made before the expiry of that period, which might require for shares to be allotted or rights granted after the expiry of that period. In accordance with corporate governance best practice recommendations, the Directors' authority, if approved, will be limited to a maximum nominal amount of £3,089,163.69, representing a maximum of 40,885,990 Ordinary Shares, equivalent to approximately one-third of the issued share capital of the Company (as at
25 March 2015, being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this document). There are no present plans to allot unissued shares other than in connection with employee share and incentive schemes. The Directors believe that they should have the authority proposed in the resolution to enable such allotments to take place to finance business opportunities as they arise.
If the Directors wish to allot unissued shares and other equity securities for cash, Section 561 of the Companies Act 2006 requires that these shares are offered first to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings. This is known as shareholders' pre-emption rights. There may be occasions, however, when the Directors need the flexibility to finance business opportunities as they arise without offering securities on a pre-emptive basis. The Companies Act 2006 Act allows a limited disapplication of these pre-emption rights in certain circumstances. Therefore this resolution, which will be proposed as a Special Resolution, renews the Directors' authority, which was granted at the 2015 EGM, to issue for cash up to 6,132,899 ordinary shares, equivalent to approximately 5 per cent of the issued share capital of the Company (as at 25 March 2015), without the shares first being offered to existing shareholders. The Directors do not intend to issue more than 7.5 per cent of the issued ordinary shares on a non pre-emptive basis in any three year period.
The resolution also confers authority to allot shares (and other equity securities) in connection with a rights issue or other issues where the securities are offered (subject to any exclusions or other arrangements as a result of legal or technical requirements) on a pre-emptive basis to ordinary shareholders. This Special Resolution will be proposed subject to resolution 8 (referred to above) first being carried by the AGM and the authority sought, if granted, will be for the same period as that granted under resolution 8.
proposed as a Special Resolution, would permit the Company to purchase, on the London Stock Exchange, up to 12,265,797 ordinary shares, which is equivalent to approximately 10 per cent of the issued share capital of the Company (as at 25 March 2015) at not less than 75/9 pence per ordinary share, nor more than the higher of:
The Company was given authority at the 2015 EGM to make market purchases of up to 12,265,797 ordinary shares. To date, no shares have been purchased under this authority. The Directors will use the authority to purchase shares only after careful consideration, taking into account market conditions, other investment opportunities, appropriate gearing levels and the overall financial position of the Company. The Directors will only purchase such shares after taking into account the effects on earnings per share and the benefit for shareholders generally.
Any shares bought by the Company under this authority will either be held in treasury, with a view to possible re-issue at a future date, or cancelled. The Directors will decide at the time of purchase whether to cancel the shares immediately or to hold them in treasury. In relation to treasury shares, the Board will also have regard to any investor guidelines, in relation to the purchase of shares intended to be held in treasury or in relation to their holding or resale, which may be in force at the time of any such purchase, holding or resale.
The authority will expire at the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, at which time the Board expects to seek its renewal.
Section 307A of the Companies Act 2006 requires the notice period for General Meetings of the Company to be at least 21 days. For General Meetings, other than AGMs, a shorter notice period of not less than 14 days may be given, provided that shareholder approval was given at the most recently held AGM (or at a General Meeting held since the last AGM) to hold such meetings on a shorter notice period.
The shareholders are being asked to authorise the convening of a General Meeting, other than an AGM, on a notice period of not less than 14 days. This authority, if granted, will expire at the conclusion of next year's AGM, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
Whilst every effort will be made to give as much notice as possible for General Meetings, the Directors believe that the ability to convene a meeting on not less than 14 days' notice gives a greater degree of flexibility when seeking shareholder approval. The Directors are therefore proposing this resolution, as a Special Resolution, to approve 14 days as the minimum period of notice for all General Meetings of the Company, other than AGMs.
The principal terms of the Computacenter Performance Share Plan 2005 (the "Plan") are as follows:
All employees and executive directors of the Company (and any subsidiaries and designated associated companies) are eligible to participate in the Plan. Individuals will be selected for participation by the Remuneration Committee or its delegate (the "Committee") at its discretion.
Awards under the Plan consist of a right to receive free shares automatically when the award vests or an option to acquire shares for an exercise price set by the Committee on grant (which may be nil).
If the Committee decides to grant awards of shares under the Plan in any year, it will normally do so within 42 days after the announcement of the Company's annual or interim results or its annual general meeting. Awards may not be granted after the tenth anniversary of the 2015 AGM.
The maximum value of shares subject to awards under the Plan to an employee in a financial year will be twice base salary for that year. This limit may be exceeded in exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of four times base salary.
The Committee can reduce or delay payment of unvested awards or claim repayment of awards already paid out in certain circumstances such as on a mis-statement of results or a failure of risk management.
Awards will normally vest at the end of a period set by the board of Committee at the time of grant. The number of shares in respect of which an award vests may depend on the satisfaction of a performance target, which will also be determined by the Committee at the time the award is granted.
Options will be exercisable, to the extent they vest, for seven years from the date of vesting, after which they will lapse.
In any ten year period, not more than 10% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company may be issued or issuable under the Plan and all other employee share plans operated by the Company. In addition, in any ten year period, not more than 5% of the issued ordinary share capital in the Company may be issued or issuable under all discretionary share plans adopted by the Company. Awards which have lapsed do not count towards these limits and, for so long as the Committee regards it as best practice, shares transferred from treasury will be treated as newly issued for these purposes.
Generally, if a participant leaves Computacenter before his award has vested, he will not receive any shares and his award will lapse on leaving.
However, if he leaves because of ill-health, injury or disability, retirement with the agreement of the Company, the sale of his employer, redundancy, or any other reason at the Committee's discretion, his award will continue in effect but, unless the Committee decides otherwise, the number of shares in respect of which it vests will be reduced to reflect the fact that he left early. Alternatively, the Committee may decide that his award will vest on or at any time after leaving, subject to performance conditions and reduced on a pro-rata basis.
On death, awards will vest irrespective of the satisfaction of the performance target but normally will be pro rated for time.
In the event of a reconstruction or takeover of the Company, awards will vest early to the extent that any performance condition is then satisfied. The number of shares vesting will also be reduced to reflect the fact that it is vesting early.
Alternatively, the Company and the acquiring company may allow or require awards to be exchanged for equivalent awards over shares in the acquiring company.
The Committee may allow awards to vest if there is a demerger, special dividend or other transaction which, in the opinion of the Committee would affect the current or future value of any Award. The award will vest on the same basis as it would on a takeover.
The rules governing the Plan can be amended by the Committee as it thinks fit. However, the provisions relating to the eligibility of employees, the plan limits, the individual limit for each participant, rights attaching to awards or shares, the adjustment of awards in the event of a variation of share capital and the amendment powers cannot be altered to the advantage of participants without the prior approval of shareholders.
However, if the amendments are minor and are designed to benefit the administration of the Plan, to comply with legislation, to take account of a change in legislation or to obtain or maintain favourable exchange control, tax or regulatory treatment for participants or for the Company or any group company then shareholder approval is not required. Subject to the directors' remuneration policy, the Committee can also waive or change a performance condition in accordance with its terms or if anything happens which causes it reasonably to consider it appropriate.
The Committee may amend the rules of the Plan to take account of or to mitigate or to comply with overseas taxation, securities laws, exchange control laws or other laws.
Awards are not pensionable and not transferable.
Any shares issued under the Plan rank equally with shares of the same class.
If there is a rights issue, demerger or other variation in the share capital of the Company, or any other corporate event which affects awards, the Committee may vary the number or type of shares comprised in an award and/or the exercise price of an option as it thinks appropriate.
Computacenter plc Registered in England No: 3110569
Registered Office Hatfield Avenue Hatfield Hertfordshire AL10 9TW
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