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Hilton Food Group PLC

AGM Information Apr 23, 2018

4867_agm-r_2018-04-23_936b59e9-8efa-4df5-bdd7-fe6e9428e564.pdf

AGM Information

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THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. IF YOU ARE IN ANY DOUBT AS TO WHAT ACTION TO TAKE YOU ARE RECOMMENDED TO CONSULT YOUR STOCKBROKER, SOLICITOR, ACCOUNTANT OR OTHER INDEPENDENT ADVISER AUTHORISED UNDER THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000.

Notice of Annual General Meeting Hilton Food Group plc

Notice of the Annual General Meeting which has been convened for Wednesday 23 May 2018 at 12:00 pm at The Old Bridge Hotel, 1 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TQ is set out on pages 3 to 6 of this document.

If you have sold or transferred all of your ordinary shares in Hilton Food Group plc, you should pass this document, together with the accompanying form of proxy, to the person through whom the sale or transfer was made for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.

To be valid, forms of proxy must be completed and returned in accordance with the instructions printed thereon so as to be received by the Company's registrars, Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA as soon as possible and in any event not later than 48 hours before the time appointed for holding the meeting.

Hilton Food Group plc 2–8 The Interchange, Latham Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 6YE England Tel: +44 (0) 1480 387214 / Fax: +44 (0) 1480 387241

23 April 2018

To the holders of Hilton Food Group plc shares

Dear Shareholder

Notice of Annual General Meeting

I am pleased to be writing to you with details of our Annual General Mmeeting ("AGM") which we are holding at The Old Bridge Hotel, 1 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TQ on Wednesday 23 May 2018 at 12:00 pm. The formal notice of Annual General Meeting is set out on pages 3 to 6 of this document.

If you would like to vote on the resolutions but cannot come to the AGM, please fill in the proxy form sent to you with this notice and return it to our registrars assoon as possible. They must receive it by 12:00 pm on Monday 21 May 2018.

Recommendation

The Board considers that all the resolutions to be put to the meeting are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and are most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole. The directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favour ofthe proposed resolutions as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings.

Yours faithfully

Colin Smith OBE Non-Executive Chairman

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Company number: 06165540

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of Hilton Food Group plc (the "Company") will be held at The Old Bridge Hotel, 1 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TQ on Wednesday 23 May 2018 at 12:00 pm for the following purposes.

You will be asked to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions. Resolutions 1 to 8 (inclusive) will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 9 to 12 (inclusive) will be proposed as special resolutions.

    1. To receive and adopt the financial statements of the Company for the 52 weeks ended 31 December 2017 and the reports of the directors and auditors on those financial statements.
    1. To receive, adopt and approve the directors' remuneration report (other than the part containing the directors' remuneration policy) contained within the financial statements of the Company for the 52 weeks ended 31 December 2017.
    1. To re-elect Philip Heffer, who retires by rotation and offers himself for re-appointment by general meeting, as a director of the Company.
    1. To re-elect John Worby, who retires by rotation and offers himself for re-appointment by general meeting, as a director of the Company.
    1. To re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company.
    1. To authorise the directors to determine the auditors' remuneration.
    1. To declare a final dividend of 14.0p per share on each of the Company's Ordinary Shares for the financial year ended 31 December 2017.
    1. That the directors be generally and unconditionally authorised for the purposes of section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to exercise all the powers of the Company to:
  • (a) allot shares in the Company and grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares in the Company up to an aggregate nominal amount of £2,711,682; and
  • (b) allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £5,423,364 (such amount to be reduced by the nominal amount of any shares allotted or rights granted under paragraph (a) of this resolution 10) in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue to:
    • (i) the holders of ordinary shares in the Company in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to the respective numbers of ordinary shares held by them; and
    • (ii) holders of other equity securities, as required by the rights of those securities or, subject to such rights, as the directors of the Company otherwise consider necessary,

and so that the directors of the Company may impose any limits or restrictions and make any arrangements which they consider necessary or appropriate to deal with treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, legal, regulatory or practical problems in, or under the laws of, any territory or any other matter.

These authorities shall apply in substitution for all previous authorities (but without prejudice to the validity of any allotment pursuant to such previous authority) and shall expire at the end of the next annual general meeting of the Company or, if earlier, 15 months after the date of this resolution, save that the Company may before such expiry make any offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights granted to subscribe for or convert any security into shares after such expiry and the directors may allot shares or grant such rights in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the power and authority conferred by this resolution had not expired.

  1. That, subject to the passing of resolution 8 above, the directors be generally and unconditionally empowered for the purposes of section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to allot equity securities (within the meaning of section 560 of the Act) for cash:

(a) pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 8 above; or

(b) where the allotment constitutes an allotment by virtue of section 560(3) of the Act,

in each case as if section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited to:

  • (i) the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer of equity securities (but in the case of an allotment pursuant to the authority granted under paragraph (b) of resolution 8, such power shall be limited to the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue only) to:
  • (A)the holders of ordinary shares in the Company in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to the respective numbers of ordinary shares held by them; and
  • (B) holders of other equity securities, as required by the rights of those securities or, subject to such rights, as the directors of the Company otherwise consider necessary,

and so that the directors of the Company may impose any limits or restrictions and make any arrangements which it considers necessary or appropriate to deal with treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, legal, regulatory or practical problems in, or under the laws of, any territory or any other matter;

  • (ii) the grant of options to subscribe for shares in the Company, and the allotment of such shares pursuant to the exercise of options granted, underthe terms of any share option scheme adopted or operated by the Company; and
  • (iii)the allotment of equity securities, other than pursuant to paragraph (i) and (ii) above of this resolution 9, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £406,752.

This power shall (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company following the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, on the date 15 months after the passing of such resolution, save that the Company may before the expiry of this power make any offer or enter into any agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted, ortreasury shares sold, after such expiry and the directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of any such offer or agreement asifthe power conferred by this resolution had not expired.

  1. That, subject to the passing of resolution 8 above, the directors be generally and unconditionally empowered for the purposes of section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") in addition to any authority granted under resolution 9 above, to allot equity securities (within the meaning of section 560 of the Act) for cash:

(a) pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 8 above; or

(b) where the allotment constitutes an allotment by virtue of section 560(3) of the Act,

in each case as if section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited to:

  • (a) the allotment of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of £406,752; and
  • (b) used only for the purpose of financing (or refinancing, if the authority is to be used within six months after the original transaction) a transaction which the directors determine to be an acquisition or other capital investment of a kind contemplated by the Statement of Principles on Disapplying Pre-Emption Rights most recently published by the Pre-Emption Group prior to the date of this notice.

This power shall (unless previously renewed, varied or revoked by the Company in general meeting) expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company following the passing of this resolution (or, if earlier, at the close of business on the date 15 months after the date of the resolution), save that the Company may before the expiry of this power make any offer or enter into any agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted, or treasury shares sold, after such expiry and the directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.

    1. That the Company be generally and unconditionally authorised for the purposes of the Act to make market purchases (as defined in section 693(4) of the Act) of ordinary shares of £0.10 each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") in such manner and on such terms as the directors of the Company may from time to time determine, and where such shares are held as treasury shares, the Company may use them for the purposes set out in sections 727 or 729 of the Act, including for the purpose of its employee share schemes, provided that:
  • (a) the maximum number of Ordinary Shares which may be purchased is 8,135,046;
  • (b) the minimum purchase price which may be paid for any Ordinary Share is 10 pence (exclusive of expenses);
  • (c) the maximum purchase price which may be paid for any Ordinary Share shall not be more than the higher of (in each case exclusive of expenses):
    • (i) 5% above the average middle market quotations for an Ordinary Share as derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which the purchase is made; and
    • (ii) an amount equal to the higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid on the London Stock Exchange at the time the purchase is carried out; and

this authority shall take effect on the date of passing of this resolution and shall (unless previously revoked, renewed or varied) expire on the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company after the passing of this resolution or, if earlier, 15 months after the date of passing of this resolution, save in relation to purchases of Ordinary Shares the contract for which was concluded before the expiry of this authority and which will or may be executed wholly or partly after such expiry.

  1. That a general meeting other than an Annual General Meeting may be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice.

By order of the Board Neil George Registered office: Company Secretary 2–8 The Interchange

Latham Road Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE29 6YE

Registered in England and Wales No. 6165540

Notes:

    1. Members are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend and to speak and vote on their behalf at the meeting and at any adjournment of it. A member may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by that member. If a proxy appointment is submitted without indicating how the proxy should vote on any resolution, the proxy will exercise his discretion as to whether and, if so, how he votes.
    1. A proxy need not be a member of the Company. A proxy form which may be used to make such appointment and give proxy instructions accompanies this notice. If you do not have a proxy form and believe that you should have one, or if you require additional forms, please contact Equiniti Limited, on 0371 384 2030 (international callers: +44 121 415 7047). Lines are open 08:30 am to 5:30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in England andWales. Members may also appoint a proxy through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service as described in note 13 below. Members wishing to appoint a proxy and register their proxy votes electronically other than through CREST should visit the website www.sharevote.co.uk. The on-screen instructions at that website will give details on how to complete the appointment and voting process. Electronic proxy appointments and voting instructions must be received no later than 48 hours before the meeting to be effective.
    1. To be valid any proxy form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand by Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA no later than 12:00 pm on Monday 21 May 2018, together with, if appropriate, the power of attorney or other authority (if any) under which it is signed or a duly certified copy of that power or authority.
    1. The return of a completed proxy form, other such instrument or any CREST Proxy Instruction (as described in note 13(a) below) will not prevent a member attending the meeting and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.
    1. A vote withheld option is provided on the form of proxy to enable you to instruct your proxy not to vote on any particular resolution, however, it should be noted that a vote withheld in this way is not a 'vote' in law and will not be counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes 'For' and 'Against' a resolution.
    1. Any person to whom this notice is sent who is a person nominated under section 146 of the Companies Act 2006 to enjoy information rights (a "Nominated Person") may, under an agreement between him/her and the shareholder by whom he/she was nominated, have a right to be appointed (orto have someone else appointed) as a proxy for the Annual General Meeting. If a Nominated Person has no such proxy appointment right or does not wish to exercise it, he/she may, under any such agreement, have a right to give instructions to the shareholder as to the exercise of voting rights.
    1. The statement of the rights of shareholders in relation to the appointment of proxies in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above does not apply to Nominated Persons. The rights described in these paragraphs can only be exercised by shareholders of the Company.
    1. To be entitled to attend and vote at the meeting (and for the purpose of the determination by the Company of the votes they may cast), members must be registered in the register of members of the Company at 6:30 pm on Monday 21 May 2018 (or, in the event of any adjournment, 6:30 pm on the datewhich is two days before the time of the adjourned meeting). Changes to the register of members after the relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.
    1. In the case of joint holders, where more than one of the joint holders purports to appoint a proxy, only the appointment submitted by the most senior holderwill be accepted. Seniority is determined by the order in which the names of the joint holders appear in the Company's register of members in respect of the joint holding (the first-named being the most senior).
    1. If a member submits more than one valid proxy appointment, the appointment received last before the latest time for the receipt of proxies will take precedence.
    1. Any member attending the meeting has the right to ask questions. The Company must cause to be answered any such question relating to the business being dealt with at the meeting but no such answer need be given if (i) to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the meeting or would involve the disclosure of confidential information or (ii) the answer has already been given on a website in the form of an answer to a question or (iii) it is undesirable in the interests of the Company or the good order of the meeting that the question be answered.
    1. As at 20 April 2018 (being the last business day prior to the publication of this notice) the Company's issued share capital consists of 81,350,464 ordinary shares, carrying one vote each. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company as at 20 April 2018 are 81,350,464.
    1. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so for this meeting by using the procedures described in the CREST Manual. CREST personal members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a voting service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf. Please note the following.
  • (a) 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 Limited's specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. 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 RA19) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in this notice. 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 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.

  • (b) 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 ofCREST 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.

  • (c) 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.
    1. Any corporation which is a member can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on its behalf all of its powers as a member provided that they do not so in relation to the same shares.
    1. The following documents will be available for inspection during normal business hours at the registered office of the Company form the date of issue ofthis notice (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excepted) until the time of the meeting and at The Old Bridge Hotel, 1 High Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 3TQ from 15 minutes before the meeting until it ends:
  • Copies of the executive directors' service contracts;
  • Copies of letters of appointment of the non-executive directors; and
  • The annual financial statements and reports of the Company for the 52 weeks ended 31 December 2017.
    1. A copy of this notice, and other information required by Section 311A of the Companies Act 2006 can be found at www.hiltonfoodgroupplc.com/investors-agm.

Explanatory notes

The notes on the following pages give an explanation of the proposed resolutions.

Resolutions 1 to 8 (inclusive) are proposed as ordinary resolutions. This means that for each of those resolutions to be passed, more than half of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Resolutions 9 to 12 (inclusive) are 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.

Report and Accounts (Resolution 1)

The directors of the Company must present the accounts to the meeting.

Directors' Remuneration Report: implementation report (Resolution 2)

In line with legislation, this vote will be advisory and will not affect the way in which the pay policy has been implemented or the future remuneration that is paid to any director. You can find the directors' remuneration report on pages 42 to 54 of the Company's annual report and accounts.

At the Company's Annual General Meeting in 2017, the directors' remuneration policy was approved by shareholders. The directors' remuneration policy is nottherefore required to be approved at this year's meeting. The policy will be put to shareholders again no later than the Company's Annual General Meeting in 2019.

Re-election of directors (Resolutions 3 and 4)

The Company's articles of association require that at each Annual General Meeting one-third of the directors for the time being shall retire from office by rotation, provided always that all directors must be subject to re-election at intervals of no more than three years. Furthermore, in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code, it is the Company's practice that any non-executive directors having been in the post for nine years or more is subject to annual re-election.

At this meeting Mr Philip Heffer and Mr John Worby will retire and stand for re-election as Director. Short biographies are given below and in the accompanying Annual Report. Having considered their performance and contribution the Board remain satisfied that Mr Heffer and Mr Worby continue to be effective and to demonstrate commitment to the role and, as such, recommend their re-election.

Philip Heffer – Chief Operating Officer

Philip joined the Hilton Food Group at its inception in 1994, as Managing Director of the Group's UK subsidiary Hilton Foods UK Limited. In his current role he is responsible for Hilton's business with its major customers in the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe and Australia. Prior to this, Philip held senior positions within the RWM Food Group. He attended Smithfield College and became an associate member of the Institute of Meat in 1984.

John Worby – Non-Executive Director

John joined Hilton in 2016 and is a Chartered Accountant with a wealth of experience in public companies and the food sector. He was Group Finance Director atGenus plc retiring in 2013 and previously was Group Finance Director and Deputy Chairman of Uniq plc. John currently holds Non-Executive Directorships at Fidessa Group plc and Carr's Group plc and formerly was a Non-Executive Director at Cranswick plc and Connect Group plc. He is also a member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel. John is Chairman of the Audit Committee and is the Senior Independent Director.

Reappointment and remuneration of auditors (Resolutions 5 and 6)

Resolution 5 proposes the reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company and Resolution 6 authorises the directors to set theirremuneration.

Declaration of a dividend (Resolution 7)

A final dividend can only be paid after the shareholders at a general meeting have approved it. A final dividend of 14.0p per ordinary share is recommended by the directors for payment to shareholders who are on the register of members at the close of business on 1 June 2018. If approved, the date of payment of the final dividend will be 29 June 2018.

Directors' authority to allot shares (Resolution 8)

The purpose of resolution 8 is to renew the directors' authority to allot shares.

The authority in paragraph (a) will allow the directors to allot new shares in the Company or to grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares in the Company up to a nominal value of £2,711,682 (27,116,821 ordinary shares), which is equivalent to approximately one third of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at the date of this notice. There is no present intention of exercising this general authority.

The authority in paragraph (b) will allow the directors to allot new shares or to grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares in the Company only in connection with a pre-emptive rights issue up to an aggregate nominal value of £5,423,364 (54,233,642 ordinary shares), which is approximately two-thirds of the Company's issued share capital as at the date of this notice (inclusive of the nominal value of £2,711,682 sought under paragraph (a) of the resolution). This is in line with corporate governance guidelines. There is no present intention to exercise this authority.

As at the date of this notice, the Company did not hold any shares in treasury.

If the resolution is passed, the authority will expire on the earlier of 23 August 2019 (the date which is 15 months after the date of the resolution) and the end ofthe next annual general meeting of the Company in 2019.

Disapplication of pre-emption rights (Resolutions 9 and 10)

If the directors wish to allot new shares or grant rights over shares or sell treasury shares for cash (other than pursuant to an employee share scheme) company law requires that these shares are first offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. There may be occasions, however, when the directors will need the flexibility to finance business opportunities by the issue of ordinary shares without a pre-emptive offer to existing shareholders. This cannot be done unless the shareholders have first waived their pre-emption rights.

Resolution 9 asks the shareholders to do this and, apart from rights issues or any other pre-emptive offer concerning equity securities, the authority will be limited to the issue of shares for cash up to a maximum number of 4,067,523 (which includes the sale on a non-pre-emptive basis of any shares held in treasury), which is equivalent to approximately 5 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at the date of this notice.

Resolution 9 also seeks a disapplication of the pre-emption rights on a rights issue or other pre-emptive issue so as to allow the directors to make exclusions orsuch other arrangements as may be appropriate to resolve legal or practical problems which, for example, might arise with overseas shareholders.

Your Board intends to adhere to the guidance issued by the Investment Association (as updated in July 2016), the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles (as updated in March 2015) (the "Statement of Principles") and the template resolutions published by the Pre-Emption Group in May 2016.

The directors therefore seek an additional authority under resolution 9 to issue shares for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis up to a maximum number of 4,067,523 (which includes the sale on a non pre-emptive basis of any shares held in treasury), which is equivalent to approximately 5 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at the date of this notice, if used only for the purposes of financing (or refinancing, if the authority is to be used within six months after the original transaction) a transaction which the directors determine to be an acquisition or other capital investment of a kind contemplated by the Statement of Principles.

If given, the authorities contained in resolutions 9 and 10 will expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company in 2019 or, if earlier, 23August 2019 (the date which is 15 months after the passing of the resolution).

Authority to purchase own shares (Resolution 11)

In certain circumstances, it may be advantageous for the Company to purchase its own shares and resolution 11 seeks the authority from shareholders to continue to do so. The directors will continue to exercise this power only when, in the light of market conditions prevailing at the time, they believe that the effect of such purchases will be to increase earnings per share and is in the best interests of shareholders generally. Other investment opportunities, appropriate gearing levels and the overall position of the Company will be taken into account when exercising this authority.

Any shares purchased in this way will be cancelled and the number of shares in issue will be reduced accordingly, save that the Company may hold in treasury any of its own shares that it purchases pursuant to the Act and the authority conferred by this resolution. This gives the Company the ability to re-issue treasury shares quickly and cost-effectively and provides the Company with greater flexibility in the management of its capital base. It also gives the Company the opportunity to satisfy employee share scheme awards with treasury shares. Once held in treasury, the Company is not entitled to exercise any rights, including the right to attend and vote at meetings in respect of the shares. Further, no dividend or other distribution of the Company's assets may be made to the Company in respect of the treasury shares.

The resolution specifies the maximum number of Ordinary Shares that may be acquired (approximately 10 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary share capital as at the date of this notice) and the maximum and minimum prices at which they may be bought.

There are no warrants or options to subscribe for ordinary shares outstanding at the date of this notice.

Resolution 11 will be proposed as a special resolution to provide the Company with the necessary authority. If given, this authority will expire at the conclusion ofthe next Annual General Meeting of the Company in 2019 or, if earlier, on 23 August 2019 (the date which is 15 months after the date of passing ofthe resolution).

The directors intend to seek renewal of this power at subsequent annual general meetings.

General meetings: length of notice (Resolution 12)

The Companies Act 2006 requires that the notice period for general meetings of a listed company is 21 days unless certain requirements are satisfied, including that shareholders approve a shorter notice period for meetings (other than annual general meetings), which cannot be less than 14 clear days.

At the Annual General Meeting held in 2017, shareholders approved a notice period for general meetings (other than annual general meetings) of not less than 14 clear days effective until this year's annual general meeting. This resolution is proposed to allow the Company to continue to call general meetings (otherthan annual general meetings) on 14 clear days' notice. The directors believe it is in the best interests of the shareholders of the Company to preserve the shorter notice period. It is intended that this shorter notice period would not be used as a matter of routine for general meetings, but only where the flexibility is merited by the business of the meeting and is thought to be in the interests of shareholders as a whole. Should this resolution be approved the approval will be effective until the end of the next annual general meeting in 2019, when it is expected that a similar resolution will be proposed. Under the Companies Act 2006 in order to be able to call a general meeting on less than 21 clear days' notice, the Company must make a means of electronic voting available to all shareholders.

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