AGM Information • Apr 10, 2015
AGM Information
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(incorporated and registered in England Wales under number 08338604)
Notice is hereby given that the second Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") of Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc (the "Company") will be held at Jefferies Hoare Govett, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London EC4V 3BJ on Tuesday, 12 May 2015, at 1.00pm to consider and, if thought fit, pass Resolutions 1 to 21 overleaf.
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, solicitor, accountant, or other independent professional adviser immediately.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares, please pass this document together with the accompanying documents to the purchaser or transferee, or to the person who arranged the sale or transfer so they can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares.
Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London, EC4V 3BJ
Tuesday 12 May 2015 at 1.00pm
I am pleased to inform you that the Company's Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") will be held at Jefferies Hoare Govett, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London EC4V 3BJ on Tuesday, 12 May 2015 at 1.00pm.
The formal Notice convening the AGM is set out on pages 3 to 5 of this document. An explanation of each of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM is set out on pages 6 to 10. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the AGM.
If you are unable to attend but would like to vote on the resolutions you may appoint a proxy by completing and returning the enclosed Form of Proxy. Alternatively, you may appoint a proxy electronically via www.capitashareportal.com or, if you hold your shares in CREST, via the CREST system. Notice of your appointment of a proxy should reach the Company's registrar, Capita, by no later than 1.00pm on Friday, 8 May 2015. Completion and return of a Form of Proxy will not prevent shareholders from attending and voting in person should they wish to do so. If you hold your shares through a nominee service, please contact the nominee service provider regarding the process for appointing a proxy.
Our Company website http://www.alnoorhospital.com/IRCorporateProfile.aspx contains a variety of information online including:
All resolutions will be voted by way of a poll. The Company believes this will result in a more accurate reflection of the views of shareholders by ensuring that every vote is recognised, including the votes of all shareholders who are unable to attend the meeting but who have appointed a proxy for the meeting. Shareholders have one vote for each ordinary share held when voting on a poll.
Explanatory notes for all the business of the AGM, including a detailed explanation of the purpose of the resolutions, are given on pages 6 to 10 of this document. Further information relating to the Company and its financial information can be found in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2014, which was circulated at the same time as this Notice and is also available on the Company's website.
Your Board of Directors believes that resolutions 1 to 20 contained in the Notice of Meeting are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommends that you vote in favour of them, as your Directors intend to do in respect of their beneficial shareholdings amounting to 7,055,946 ordinary shares (representing approximately 6.04% of the issued share capital of the Company as at 29 March 2015, being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this Notice.
Your Board of Directors considers that resolution 21 is also in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. However given the interests of the Directors in this resolution, the Board does not think it appropriate to make a recommendation to shareholders as to how they should vote in respect of this resolution, other than that shareholders should vote on the resolution in question. As a result of its subject matter, the Directors will not vote on resolution 21 and they have undertaken to take all reasonable steps to ensure that their associates will also not vote on that resolution.
Yours sincerely
Ian Tyler Non-Executive Chairman Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc
Notice is hereby given that the second Annual General Meeting of Al Noor Hospitals Group plc will be held on Tuesday, 12 May 2015, at 1.00pm at the offices of Jefferies Hoare Govett, Vintners Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London EC4V 3BJ to transact the business set out in the resolutions below.
Resolutions 1 to 17 (inclusive) will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 18 to 21 will be proposed as special resolutions.
Voting on all resolutions will be by way of a poll. Resolutions 1 to 17 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions; this means that for each of those ordinary resolutions to be passed, more than half of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Resolutions 7, 10, 13 and 14 relating to the re-election of Independent Non-Executive Directors will be passed only if a majority of votes cast by independent shareholders are in favour, in addition to a majority of votes cast by all shareholders being in favour. Resolutions 18 to 21 will be proposed as special resolutions; this means that for each of those resolutions to be passed, at least three-quarters of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution.
These authorities shall apply in substitution for all previous authorities pursuant to Section 551 of the Act and shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting or on 30 June 2016, whichever is the earlier, but, in each case, so that the Company may, before such expiry, make offers or enter into agreements which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares to be granted after the authorities granted by this resolution has expired.
For the purposes of this resolution, "rights issue" means an offer to:
to subscribe further securities by means of the issue of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable instrument) which may be traded for a period before payment for the securities is due, but subject in both cases to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates or legal, regulatory or practical problems in, or under the laws of, any territory.
as if Section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to any such allotment;
such power to expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company or on 30 June 2016, whichever is the earlier, but so that the Company may during this period, make offers or enter into agreements which would, or might, require equity securities to be allotted after the power ends and the Directors may allot equity securities under any such offer or agreement as if the authority conferred by this resolution had not expired.
For the purposes of this resolution:
By order of the Board
1st Floor, 40 Dukes Place, London, EC3A 7NH
29 March 2015
The Directors are required to present the accounts, Directors' report and auditors' report to the meeting. These are contained in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014.
This resolution deals with the remuneration paid to the directors during the year under review. Shareholders are invited to vote on the Directors' Remuneration Report, which appears on pages 64 to 75 in the 2014 Annual Report (excluding the Directors' Remuneration Policy). Resolution 2 is an advisory vote.
The Board proposes a final dividend of 9p per share for the year ended 31 December 2014. If approved, the recommended final dividend will be paid on 15 May 2015 to all ordinary shareholders who are on the register of members on 17 April 2015. The shares will be marked ex-dividend on 16 April 2015.
In accordance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code, all members of the Board wishing to continue their appointments seek re-election by the shareholders. Ronald Lavater, who was appointed by the Board on 1 October 2014, retires and seeks election for the first time by the shareholders at the AGM.
Following a formal Board evaluation process and recommendation from the Nomination Committee, the Board is satisfied that each of the Directors continues to be effective and demonstrates a commitment to the role and that each of the Directors continues to be able to dedicate sufficient time to their duties. The Directors believe that the Board continues to include an appropriate balance of skills and provides effective leadership for the Company. The Board has a variety of skills which include significant financial experience, extensive knowledge of the healthcare industry both within the UAE and internationally and significant experience of public companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Board of Directors therefore recommends the re-election of all Directors who are seeking re-election and also the election of Ronald Lavater as a Director, who was appointed during the year.
Full biographies of all the directors are set out on pages 48 to 51 in the Company's 2014 Annual Report and are also available for viewing on the Company's website (www.alnoorhospital.com).
The Board considers Seamus Keating, William J. Ward, Mubarak Matar Al Hamiri and William S. Ward to be independent directors in accordance with provision B.1.1 of the UK Corporate Governance Code. None of Independent Non-Executive Directors seeking re-election at the AGM has any existing or previous relationship, transaction or arrangement with the Company, nor with any controlling shareholder of the Company or any associate of a controlling shareholder of the Company within the meaning of Listing Rule 13.8.17R(1). In considering the independence of the Non-Executive Directors, the Board has taken into account guidance from the UK Corporate Governance Code.
The changes made to the Listing Rules in May 2014 require that Independent Non-Executive Directors be elected by a majority of votes cast by independent shareholders in addition to a majority of votes cast by all shareholders in the Company. Therefore, the resolutions for the election of the Independent Non-Executive Directors (resolutions 7, 10, 13 and 14) will be taken on a poll and the votes cast by independent shareholders and all shareholders will be calculated separately. Such resolutions will be passed only if a majority of votes cast by independent shareholders are in favour, in addition to a majority of votes cast by all shareholders being in favour.
Under the new Listing Rules, Sheikh Mansoor Bin Butti Al Hamed, Ahmad Nimer, Faisal Belhoul, Khaldoun Haj Hasan and Dr Kassem Alom are representatives of the Principal Shareholders of the Company and are therefore not considered to be independent directors as contemplated by provision B.1.1 of the UK Corporate Governance Code.
Role: Chief Executive Officer Appointment to the Board: 1 October 2014 Committee membership: N/A
Ronald Lavater was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since 1 October 2014. Prior to joining the Company, his career spanned over 20 years, in a number of roles in the healthcare field. Most recently this included serving as Chief Executive Officer of John Hopkins Medicine International.
Resolution 5 - To re-elect Dr Kassem Alom as a Director Role: Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Nomination Committee, Quality Committee
Dr Kassem Alom is the founder of the Company and was Chief Executive Officer from the Company's inception in 1985, having previously owned a private clinic in Abu Dhabi. Since stepping down as Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2014, Dr Kassem has acted as Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the Company. Dr Kassem is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London and holds an MBBS from the University of Seville specialising in internal medicine and gastroenterology.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: N/A
Sheikh Mansoor Bin Butti Al Hamed is a Non-Executive Director and is also the head of strategic relations at Mubadala Development Company PJSC. He is also a Director on the Board of United Al Saqer Group LLC.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Nomination Committee
Mubarak Matar Al Hamiri is an Independent Non-Executive Director and has more than 20 years of professional experience in the field of international and local investment management. Mubarak is currently a Managing Director of the Royal Group. He holds a Bachelors' degree in Computer Science and a Certification in Risk Management and Financial Consultancy.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Remuneration Committee
Faisal Belhoul is a Non-Executive Director of the Company and also the founder and Managing Partner of Ithmar Capital. Faisal currently serves as Chairman of Amanat Holdings and serves on the Board of the DCCI. He was educated in the United States and he studied Manufacturing Engineering in Boston University.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 7 November 2013 Committee membership: N/A
Khaldoun Haj Hasan is a Non-Executive Director of the Company and also the co-founder of Ithmar Capital. Khaldoun currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Amanat Holdings. He holds a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Manufacturing Engineering as well as an MBA, all from Boston University.
Role: Senior Independent Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Audit & Risk Committee (Chair), Remuneration Committee, Quality Committee
Seamus Keating undertakes the role as Senior Independent Director for the Company. Seamus has over 20 years' experience in the global technology sector in both finance and operational roles and was a main board director of Logica Plc from 2002 until April 2012 having joined the company as Group Finance Director in 1999. He currently serves as the Chairman of First Derivatives Plc and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Quality Committee
Ahmad Nimer is a Non-Executive Director and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of United Al Saqer Group LLC. He is also on the board of the Gulf Catering Company. Prior to this he served as a partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP from 2002 to 2011. Ahmad also holds numerous qualifications and is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a Chief Fraud Examiner, a Forensic Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Risk Professional and a Chartered Business Consultant.
Role: Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Audit & Risk Committee, Remuneration Committee (Chair), Nomination Committee (Chair), Quality Committee
Mr Ian Tyler joined the Company as Non-Executive Chairman in June 2013. Preceding this appointment, Ian was Chief Executive Officer of Balfour Beatty Plc from January 2005 to March 2013, having previously held other various roles within Balfour Beatty since 1996. He is currently a Non-Executive director of Cable & Wireless Communications Plc, BAE Systems Plc and Cairn Energy Plc. Ian is also a qualified chartered accountant.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 5 June 2013 Committee membership: Audit & Risk Committee, Quality Committee (Chair)
William J. Ward is an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company and is a former senior healthcare executive with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare finance and operations. William serves on the boards of University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health and the Catholic Health Services of Long Island. He is also the director of the Master of Health Administration Degree programme at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Faculty Director of the School's Summers Scholars leadership programme. Furthermore he is the author of two textbooks and numerous articles and has lectured widely on a variety of healthcare financial and operation subjects.
Role: Non-Executive Director Appointment to the Board: 7 November 2013 Committee membership: Nomination Committee, Quality Committee
William S. Ward is an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company and has over 30 years of experience in healthcare. He has in the past served as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director for Bupa International Insurance Business including the worldwide entity. William is also a qualified Chartered Secretary and has certification in Management and Advanced Management Programmes.
At each meeting at which the Company's accounts are presented to its members, the Company is required to appoint an auditor to serve until the next such meeting. The Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the Audit & Risk Committee, recommends the re-election of KPMG LLP.
This resolution gives authority to the Audit & Risk Committee to determine the auditor's remuneration.
The purpose of this resolution is to give the Directors powers to allot shares.
The authority in paragraph (a) of this resolution, if passed, would provide the Directors with a general authority to allot new shares and grant rights to subscribe for, or convert other securities into, shares up to a nominal amount of £3,895,540, which is equal to approximately one third of the issued share capital of the Company as at 29 March 2015, being the latest practicable date before the publication of this Notice.
Paragraph (b) under resolution 17 will grant the Directors additional authority to allot new shares and grant rights to subscribe for, or convert other securities into, shares only in connection with a rights issue up to a further nominal amount of £3,895,540, which is equal to approximately one third of the issued share capital of the Company as at 29 March 2014, being the last practicable date before the publication of this Notice. As at 29 March 2015, the Company did not hold any shares in treasury.
This is in line with the Share Capital Management Guidelines issued by the Investment Association in July 2014 to allot a maximum aggregate nominal amount which represents no more than two-thirds of the Company's issued share capital. In addition, in accordance with the Share Capital Management Guidelines, it is envisaged that if the authority under paragraph (b) of resolution 17 is utilised, all of the Directors will offer themselves for re-election at the Company's next annual general meeting.
The resolution would give the Board of Directors the maximum flexibility permitted by investor guidelines to respond to market developments, however, there are no current plans to allot shares except in connection with the Company's employee share schemes.
If this resolution is passed, the authority will expire at the earlier of 30 June 2016 and the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting. It is the intention of the directors to seek to renew this authority every year.
This resolution would, if passed, allow the Directors to allot shares or sell treasury shares for cash (other than in connection with an employee share scheme), without having to offer such shares to existing shareholders in proportion to their own holdings (known as pre-emption rights).
The purpose of paragraph (a) of resolution 18 is to authorise the Directors to allot new shares pursuant to the authority given by paragraph (a) of resolution 17, or sell treasury shares, for cash (I) in connection with a pre-emptive offer or rights issue or (II) otherwise up to a nominal value of £1,168,662, equivalent to approximately ten per cent. of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 29 March 2015, in each case without the shares first being offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. As at 29 March 2015, the Company did not hold any shares in treasury.
It is the Directors' intention to adhere to the provisions of the Pre-emption Group's Statement of Principles, as updated in March 2015, and not to allot shares on a non pre-emptive basis pursuant to the authority in resolution 18 (a) (ii):
in each case other than in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment which is announced contemporaneously with the allotment or which has taken place in the preceding six-month period and is disclosed in the announcement of the allotment.
The purpose of paragraph (b) of resolution 18 is to authorise the Directors to allot new shares pursuant to the authority given by paragraph (b) of resolution 17, or sell treasury shares, for cash in connection with a rights issue without the shares first being offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. This is in line with the Investment Association's Share Capital Management Guidelines issued in July 2014.
If this resolution is passed, the authority will expire at the earlier of 30 June 2016 or the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting. It is the intention of the Directors to seek to renew this authority every year.
This resolution would, if passed, renew the authority granted to the Company to make market purchases of up to 11,686,620 of its own ordinary shares until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting or 30 June 2016, whichever is the earlier. This represents just under 10% of the Company's issued share capital as at 29 March 2015. The resolution specifies the minimum and maximum prices at which the ordinary shares may be bought under this authority.
This authority will expire at the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting or 30 June 2016, whichever is the earlier. It is the intention of the Directors to seek to renew this authority every year.
The Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority granted by this resolution, but the authority provides the flexibility to allow them to do so in future. The directors would not exercise the authority unless they believed that the expected effect would promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole. Any shares purchased would be effected by a purchase in the market and may either be cancelled or held as treasury shares, which may then be cancelled, sold for cash or used to meet the Company's obligations under its employee share schemes. As at 29 March 2015, the Company has no shares held in treasury.
There are no present plans to allot shares, other than in respect of employee share schemes and pursuant to the conditional award of shares under the terms of Ian Tyler's appointment as Chairman.
The Company operates long term incentive plans under which awards may be satisfied by the allotment or transfer of ordinary shares to award holders. As at 29 March 2015 (being the latest practicable date before the date of this document), awards were subsisting over 628,673 ordinary shares (the "Award Shares"), representing approximately 0.54% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital. As at that date, the Company did not hold any treasury shares and there were no warrants over the Company's ordinary shares. If the authority to purchase the Company's ordinary shares under resolution 19 were exercised in full, the Award Shares would represent approximately 0.60% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at 29 March 2015.
Under the Act, the notice period required for all general meetings of the Company is 21 days. Annual general meetings will always be held on at least 21 clear days' notice but shareholders can approve a shorter notice period for other general meetings, as long as this is not less than 14 clear days.
This resolution would, if passed, allow the Company flexibility to call general meetings, other than annual general meetings on not less than 14 clear days' notice. The approval will be effective until the Company's next annual general meeting, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
A technical issue has arisen in respect of the interim dividend of 3.7p per ordinary share paid by the Company to shareholders on the register on 12 September 2014 (amounting to approximately \$7.1 million) on 10 October 2014. It has been brought to the Directors' attention that, for technical reasons under the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act"), the 2014 Interim Dividend paid to shareholders on the register of shareholders on the relevant record date should have been preceded by the filing of the interim accounts. When the Company paid the 2014 Interim Dividend, although the Company had sufficient distributable profits to pay that dividend at the payment date and a set of interim accounts (as defined in the Act) showing the requisite level of distributable profits were prepared prior to such payment, these interim accounts had inadvertently not been filed at Companies House, as required by that Act. As a result, the 2014 Interim Dividend was paid in technical infringement of the Act. However, given that the Company at the time had sufficient distributable reserves to make the payment of the 2014 Interim Dividend had the interim accounts been filed in advance of such payment, the Directors believe that neither shareholders nor creditors have been prejudiced.
The Company wishes to address the matter by way of a ratification resolution to be approved by the shareholders at the AGM. Resolution 21, which is proposed as a special resolution, is to ratify and confirm the appropriation of profits to the payment of the 2014 Interim Dividend and the entry in the audited accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2014 whereby distributable profits of the Company were appropriated to the payment of such dividend.
As a result of their interest in its subject matter, the Directors who are also shareholders (holding beneficially in aggregate approximately 6.04% of the issued share capital of the Company as at 29 March 2015, the latest practicable date before publication of this notice) will not vote on this resolution.
The Board confirms that, in its opinion, resolutions 1 – 20 respectively are in the best interests of the shareholders of the Company as a whole and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of them.
The Board deems resolution 21 to be in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. In light of the Directors' interests in this resolution, the Board does not think it appropriate to make a recommendation to shareholders as to how they should vote on this resolution other than that shareholders should vote on resolution 21. As a result of their interest in its subject matter, the Directors will not vote on resolution 21 and they have undertaken to take all reasonable steps to ensure that their associates will not vote on that resolution.
The following notes explain your general rights as a shareholder and your right to attend and vote at this AGM or to appoint someone else to vote on your behalf.
A copy of this Notice, and other information required by Section 311A of the Companies Act 2006, can be found on the Company's website at www.alnoorhospital.com.
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