AGM Information • Mar 21, 2023
AGM Information
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If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you are recommended immediately to seek your own financial advice from your stockbroker, bank manager, auditor, accountant or other independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your Ordinary Shares in Aptitude Software Group plc, please send this document, together with the accompanying form of proxy and annual report, as soon as possible, to the purchaser or transferee or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee.
20 March 2023
(incorporated and registered in England and Wales with registered number 01602662)
Dear Shareholder
Set out in this circular letter, on pages 5 to 11, is a formal notice of the Annual General Meeting of Aptitude Software Group plc to be held on Wednesday 17 May 2023 at 9.00 am at 8th Floor, 138 Cheapside, London EC2V 6BJ ("AGM").
If you would like to vote on the resolutions set out in the Notice but cannot attend the AGM, please appoint a proxy. Shareholders may register the appointment of a proxy for the AGM electronically via the website of Link Group, the Company's Registrars, at www.signalshares.com. Further information on submitting proxies can also be found on page 9 of this Notice of AGM. Please note the deadline for the receipt of proxies by our Registrar, Link Group, is 9:00 am on Monday 15 May 2023.
The Board recognises the importance of shareholder engagement through the AGM process and encourages shareholders to submit any questions relating to the business to be conducted at the AGM to the Company in advance of the meeting. Questions should be sent by email to [email protected]. Please state "Aptitude Software Group: AGM" in the subject line of the email. The Company will publish any relevant questions, together with the Board's answers to these, on its website following the AGM.
The purpose of this letter is for the Board to explain to you the Resolutions numbered 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 which are proposed in the Notice of AGM.
Ordinary Resolution to approve the Annual Report on Remuneration, which is Part B of the Directors' Remuneration Report and is set out on pages 67 to 80 of the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022. This is an advisory Resolution which means that a Director's remuneration is not conditional on the Resolution being passed.
Ordinary Resolution to approve the Directors' Remuneration Policy (the "Policy") which is set out on pages 58 to 66 of the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The current Remuneration Policy was approved by shareholders at the Company's annual general meeting in 2020. Shareholder approval for the Remuneration Policy must be sought at least every three years. Details of the proposed changes to the existing Remuneration Policy are set out on pages 52 and 53 of the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2022. The vote on the Policy is binding on the Company. If Resolution 3 is passed, the new Policy will apply to all remuneration payments made for a period of three years effective from 17 May 2023. If Resolution 3 is not passed, the Directors' Remuneration Policy approved at the 2020 annual general meeting will continue in effect.
Ordinary Resolutions relating to the re-election of the Directors. In accordance with the recommendations of the 2018 Corporate Governance Code, all Directors offer themselves for annual re-election.
Biographical details of each Director are set out inside the front cover of the Annual Report and Accounts and on the Company's website: www.aptitudesoftware.com. Having considered the performance of, and contribution made by each Director, the Board remains satisfied that the individual performance of each Director is of a high standard and that their continuing appointment is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. As such, the Board recommends the re-election of Ivan Martin, Barbara Moorhouse, Jeremy Suddards, Philip Wood and Sara Dickinson as Directors under Resolutions 5 to 9.
As communicated by the Group on 24 January 2023 and explained on page 19 of the Annual Report and Accounts, Philip Wood will stepping down from the Board in July 2023. Philip will therefore be seeking re-election by Shareholders at the 2023 Annual General Meeting, but with the understanding that this re-election will only cover the period from the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting to the date of his resignation from the Board in July 2023.
Ordinary Resolution relating to the Directors' authority to allot Relevant Securities in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), which will replace the authority given at the annual general meeting of the Company held on 28 April 2022. This Resolution complies with the Investment Association Share Capital Management Guidelines issued in February 2023 and the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles issued in March 2015 and updated in November 2022.
If passed, the Resolution will authorise the Directors to allot Relevant Securities up to a maximum nominal amount of £1,401,585 which represents approximately 33.3% of the Company's issued Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares) as at 20 March 2023 and a further amount of £1,401,585 which represents approximately 33.3% of the Company's issued Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares) as at 20 March 2023 in respect of a fully pre-emptive offer. As at close of business on 20 March 2023, the Company did not hold any treasury shares.
The authority granted by this Resolution will expire on 31 May 2024 or, if earlier, on the conclusion of next year's annual general meeting. The Directors have no immediate intention to exercise the authority conferred by this Resolution, but consider it desirable to have sufficient authority in place, as permitted by corporate governance guidelines, to respond to market developments and to enable allotments to take place in a timely manner, should such a situation arise.
In this Resolution, Relevant Securities means:
Resolution 13 is a Special Resolution, which will, if passed, give the Directors power, pursuant to the authority to allot granted by Resolution 12, to allot equity securities (as defined by section 560 of the CA 2006) or sell treasury shares for cash without first offering them to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings: (a) in relation to pre-emptive offers; and (b) in any other case, up to a maximum nominal amount of £420,475 (5,733,761 shares) which represents approximately 10% of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 20 March 2023 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this document).
The power granted by this Resolution replaces the authority given at the annual general meeting of the Company held on 28 April 2022 and will expire on the conclusion of next year's annual general meeting or, if earlier, on 31 May 2024.
Special Resolution 14 will, if passed, give the Directors power, pursuant to the authority to allot granted by Resolution 12 and in addition to the authority granted pursuant to Resolution 13, to allot equity securities (as defined by section 560 of the CA 2006) or sell treasury shares for cash without first offering them to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings up to a maximum nominal amount of £420,475 (5,733,761 shares) which represents approximately 10% of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at 20 March 2023 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this document) where such allotment is 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 Board of the Company determines to be an acquisition or another 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.
These Resolutions are in line with guidance issued by the Investment Association (issued in February 2023) and the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles (issued in March 2015 and updated in November 2022) (the Statement of Principles), and the template Resolutions published by the Pre-Emption Group in November 2022.
The Directors have no present intention to exercise the authority conferred by these Resolutions, but wish to have the flexibility to do so, should it be deemed to be in the best interests of the Company to do so.
Special Resolution to renew the existing authority to enable the Company to make purchases of its own shares until the next annual general meeting in 2024.
This Resolution, if passed, will enable the Company to make purchases on the London Stock Exchange limited to 5,733,761 shares (equivalent to 10 per cent. of its issued share capital as at 20 March 2023), at, or between, the minimum and maximum prices specified in Resolution 15. Any shares purchased by the Company pursuant to this Resolution may be immediately cancelled or held in treasury. Under the CA 2006, the Company is permitted to hold its own shares in treasury following a buy-back, instead of cancelling them. Such shares may be resold for cash or used to satisfy share options but all rights attaching to them, including voting rights and any right to receive dividends are suspended whilst they are held in treasury.
The Directors currently have no immediate intention to exercise the authority sought under Resolution 15 to make market purchases, but consider the authority desirable to provide maximum flexibility in the management of the Company's capital base. This power would only be used after careful consideration by the Directors, having taken into account such matters as market conditions prevailing at that time, the investment needs of the Company and its overall financial position. The Directors would exercise the proposed authority to purchase Ordinary Shares only if they considered it to be in the best interests of shareholders and if the purchases could be reasonably expected to result in an increase in earnings per share.
As at 20 March 2023, 2,298,092 options were outstanding to subscribe for Ordinary Shares, representing 4.0 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company. The proportion of issued share capital represented by such share options would increase to 4.5 per cent. if the authority to purchase shares (existing and sought) proposed by Resolution 15 is utilised in full by the Directors. There are currently no warrants outstanding and no treasury shares in issue. The authority sought in Resolution 15 is to replace the authority given at the last annual general meeting and will expire at the conclusion of the annual general meeting in 2024 or on 31 May 2024, whichever is the earlier.
Special Resolution to allow a general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, to be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice.
Under the Shareholders' Rights Regulations, the notice period for general meetings is 21 clear days, unless certain requirements are satisfied to allow the notice of general meetings (other than annual general meetings) to be shortened to 14 clear days' notice. The requirements include the passing of a Special Resolution by shareholders and making electronic voting available to all shareholders. This authority was granted by shareholders at the previous annual general meeting of the Company, and the Directors believe it is in the best interests of shareholders to retain the flexibility of this shorter notice period.
The shorter notice period will be used where the flexibility is merited by the business of the meeting, where the matter is time sensitive and where it is thought to be to the advantage of shareholders. The approval will be effective until the Company's annual general meeting in 2024, when a resolution will be proposed to renew the authority.
Ordinary Resolution to amend the rules of the Group's Performance Share Plan 2016 (the "PSP") in line with the updates proposed to the Directors' Remuneration Policy.
Under the existing rules of the PSP, awards may be granted in respect of a financial year to an eligible employee (including an Executive Director) over shares with a value of up to 125% of salary (or 200% of salary in exceptional circumstances).
Resolution 17 proposes the approval of an amendment to these rules to permit the grant of awards in respect of a financial year over shares with a value of up to 150% of salary (with no increase to the 200% of salary in exceptional circumstances limit). This additional headroom will align the terms of the PSP with the new Directors' Remuneration Policy for which approval is sought as referred to in Resolution 3, and as referred to in the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2022. As explained on page 52 of the Directors' Remuneration Report, there is no intention to utilise the additional headroom during 2023.
The rules of the PSP marked-up to show the proposed amendment will be available for inspection at the place of the Annual General Meeting for at least 15 minutes before and during the meeting and on the national storage mechanism from the date of this Notice. The marked-up version of the PSP rules also includes a further minor amendment for which shareholder approval is not required.
The Directors believe that the adoption of all the Resolutions to be put to the Meeting are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and are most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of shareholders as a whole. The Directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favour of all the Resolutions to be proposed at the AGM, as they themselves intend to do in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings which in aggregate amount to a total of 466,265 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 0.8 per cent. of the existing issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company as at 20 March 2023, being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this circular letter containing the Notice of AGM.
Yours sincerely
Ivan Martin CHAIRMAN
Registered Office: 8th Floor, 138 Cheapside, London EC2V 6BJ. Registered in England Number 1602662
(Incorporated in England and Wales under the Companies Acts 1948 to 1980 with number 1602662)
To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following Resolutions. Resolutions 1 to 12 and 17 will be proposed as Ordinary Resolutions and Resolutions 13 to 16 will be proposed as Special Resolutions.
Relevant Securities or grant rights to subscribe for or convert any Relevant Security into shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement notwithstanding that the authority conferred by this Resolution has expired.
and further,
(b) that, in accordance with section 551 of the CA 2006, and in addition to the authority granted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Resolution, the Directors be generally and unconditionally authorised to allot Relevant Securities in connection with a rights issue in favour of Ordinary shareholders where the equity securities respectively attributable to the interests of all Ordinary shareholders are proportionate (as nearly as may be) to the respective numbers of Ordinary Shares held by them up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,401,585 but subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, legal or practical problems in or under the laws of any territory or the requirements of any regulatory body or stock exchange, provided that this authority shall, unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company, expire at 23:59 on 31 May 2024 or, if earlier, the date of the next annual general meeting of the Company, save that the Company may, before such expiry, make offers or agreements which would or might require Relevant Securities to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert any Relevant Security into shares to be granted after it expires and the Directors may allot Relevant Securities or grant rights to subscribe for or convert any Relevant Security into shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement notwithstanding that the authority conferred by this Resolution has expired.
In this resolution, "Relevant Securities" means shares in the Company or rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company; a reference to the allotment of Relevant Securities includes the grant of such a right; and a reference to the nominal amount of a Relevant Security which is a right to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company is to the nominal amount of the shares which may be allotted pursuant to that right.
These authorities are in substitution for all existing authorities under section 551 of the CA 2006 (which to the extent unused at the date of this resolution, are revoked with immediate effect).
The authority granted by this Resolution will expire at the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting after the passing of this Resolution or, if earlier, at 23:59 on 31 May 2024, save that the Company may, before such expiry make offers or agreements which would or might require equity securities to be allotted (or treasury shares to be sold) after the authority expires and the Directors may allot equity securities (or sell treasury shares) in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not expired.
This Resolution revokes and replaces all unexercised powers previously granted to the Directors pursuant to sections 570 and 573 of the CA 2006 to allot equity securities or sell treasury shares as if section 561 of the CA 2006 did not apply but without prejudice to any allotment of equity securities or sale of treasury shares already made or agreed to be made pursuant to such authorities.
The authority granted by this Resolution will expire at the conclusion of the Company's next annual general meeting after the passing of this Resolution or, if earlier, at 23:59 on 31 May 2024, save that the Company may, before such expiry make offers or agreements which would or might require equity securities to be allotted (or treasury shares to be sold) after the authority expires and the Directors may allot equity securities (or sell treasury shares) in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not expired.
The authority conferred by this Resolution 15 shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company in 2025 or at 23:59 on 31 May 2024, whichever is earlier (except in relation to the purchase of Ordinary Shares, the contract for which was concluded before such date and which is completed wholly or partly after such date) unless such authority is renewed prior to such time.
By order of the Board
Georgina Sharley Company Secretary
20 March 2023
Registered Office: 8th Floor 138 Cheapside London EC2V 6BJ
The following notes explain your general rights as a shareholder and your rights to attend and vote at the AGM or to appoint someone else to vote on your behalf.
Where the Company is required to publish such a statement on its website:
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