AGM Information • Dec 31, 2018
AGM Information
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Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2XF on Friday 24 May 2019 at 12 noon. Attendees will be required to register on arrival prior to the start of the meeting. Further instructions will be notified to attendees by the Chairman of the meeting prior to and during the course of the meeting. Please note that the building is wheelchair accessible.
If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, you should consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other professional adviser authorised pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you have sold or transferred all of your shares in Bodycote plc ("Company"), please forward this document together with the accompanying Form of Proxy to the purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale was effected without delay, for delivery to the purchaser or transferee. If you have sold some but not all of your shares, please contact your stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale was effected without delay for advice as to how to proceed. Shareholders may, as an alternative, register a proxy electronically on the Company registrar's website at www.sharevote.co.uk. To be valid, the Form of Proxy, or registration of your proxy electronically, in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, must be lodged by post or by hand with the Company's registrar, Equiniti, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA during normal office hours, no later than 48 hours before the time of the meeting.
Bodycote plc Registered in England and Wales No 519057
Registered Office: Springwood Court, Springwood Close Tytherington Business Park Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 2XF
21 March 2019
From the Chair, Ms Anne C. Quinn
As you will see from the notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Company, to be held on 24 May 2019, in addition to the ordinary business to be transacted at the meeting, your Board is proposing 6 items of special business, as set out in resolutions 15 to 20.
The ordinary business of the meeting will include the approval of the Annual Report, the declaration of dividends, appointment of auditors, authorisation of auditors' remuneration, proposals to re-elect each of the Directors, in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code and to approve the annual remuneration report as well as the remuneration policy. Further explanation of the ordinary business off the Annual General Meeting is set out on page 3 of this notice.
The special business relates to the renewal of the authority for Directors to allot shares, the renewal of the authority for Directors to allot shares on a non-pre-emptive basis, the disapplication of pre-emption rights, the renewal of authority for the Company to purchase its own shares, and the renewal of authority for the Company to call General Meetings on 14 days' notice. As a further item of special business this year, shareholders are also being asked to approve an amendment to the Company's articles of association. Further details of the special business of the Annual General Meeting are set out on pages 3 to 4 of this notice.
Your Board believes that the resolutions to be proposed are all in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and accordingly recommend that you vote in favour of them. You will find enclosed a Form of Proxy which, to be effective, you should please complete in accordance with the instructions given and return so as to reach the Company's registrar as soon as possible but in any event not later than 48 hours before the time of the meeting. The completion of the Form of Proxy will not prevent you from attending the meeting in person if you wish to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Chair
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 66th annual general meeting of BODYCOTE PLC will be held at Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2XF on Friday, 24 May 2019, at 12 noon for the following purposes:
To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolutions, of which Resolution 15 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution and Resolutions 16 to 20 will be proposed as special resolutions:
and such authorities shall expire on the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier, save that, the Company may make offers or agreements which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert securities into shares to be granted after the authority ends and the Directors may allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for or convert securities into shares in pursuance of any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not ended. These authorities are in substitution for all existing authority under section 551 of the Act (which, to the extent unused at the date of this resolution, are revoked with immediate effect).
16. That, subject to the passing of Resolution 15 as set out in the notice of this meeting, and in accordance with article 16 of the articles of association of the Company ("Articles"), the Directors be empowered pursuant to section 570 of the Act to allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act ) for cash pursuant to the general authority conferred by Resolution 15 as set out in the notice of this meeting and be empowered pursuant to section 573 of the Act to sell ordinary shares (as defined in section 560 of the Act) held by the Company as treasury shares (as defined in section 724 of the Act) for cash, as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to such allotment or sale, provided that this power shall be limited to allotments of equity securities and the sale of treasury shares:
and such power shall expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier, save that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after such expiry, and the Directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired.
and such power shall expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier, save that the Company may before such expiry make an offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted or treasury shares to be sold after such expiry, and the Directors may allot equity securities or sell treasury shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the power conferred by this resolution had not expired. These authorities are in substitution for all existing power under sections 570 and 573 of the Act (which, to the extent unused at the date of this resolution, are revoked with immediate effect).
(b) the authority herein contained shall expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months from the date of this resolution, whichever is earlier, save that the Company may, before such expiry, make a contract to purchase its own shares which would or may be completed or executed wholly or partly after such expiry, and the Company may make a purchase of its own shares in pursuance of such contract as if the authority hereby conferred had not expired.
19. That as permitted by section 307A of the Act any general meeting of the Company (other than the Annual General Meeting of the Company) shall be called by notice of at least 14 clear days in accordance with the provisions of the Articles provided that the authority of this resolution shall expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020.
"96. Fees may be paid out of the funds of the Company to directors who are not managing or executive directors at such rates as the Directors may from time to time determine, provided that such fees do not in the aggregate exceed the sum of £1,000,000 per annum (exclusive of value added tax if applicable) or such other figure as the Company may by ordinary resolution from time to time determine."
| U.S. Ball | Springwood Court |
|---|---|
| Group Company Secretary | Springwood Close |
| 21 March 2019 | Tytherington Business Park |
| Macclesfield | |
| Cheshire | |
| SK10 2XF |
In light of the continued strong financial performance, cash generation and the robustness of the Company's balance sheet, the Directors consider it appropriate to propose a one-off special dividend of 20 pence on each share, in addition to the final dividend recommended under Resolution 2. The approval of this Resolution is not dependent on the approval of Resolution 2, nor vice versa. If this Resolution is approved, the recommended special dividend will be paid on the same basis as the final dividend.
Under the Articles each director must retire from office and stand for re-election by shareholders as a minimum at every third annual general meeting in order to continue to serve as a Director. However, in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code, and to further increase accountability, all Directors will retire at this Annual General Meeting and stand for re-election by the shareholders if they wish to continue to serve as Directors. Accordingly, the Directors retiring and offering themselves for re-election are Ms. A.C. Quinn, Mr S.C. Harris, Ms E. Lindqvist, Mr I.B. Duncan, Mr P. Larmon, Mr D. Yates and Ms L. Chahbazi.
Following the implementation of The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2016 and the Audit Regulation (EU) 537/2014 on 17 June 2016, the Company is obliged to rotate its external auditors every 20 years and undertake a tendering process every 10 years. As more fully described in the Annual Report, the Company's Audit Committee undertook a tender process. The result of the tender was that the Audit Committee made a recommendation to the Directors that PwC be appointed as the new external auditor in place of Deloitte LLP, subject to shareholder approval. Accordingly, the Directors recommend to shareholders that PwC be appointed as the Company's auditor to serve until the next Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020.
UK listed companies are required to put before shareholders in general meeting a resolution inviting shareholders to approve the Remuneration Report. This is an advisory vote. The Remuneration Report gives details of the Directors' remuneration for the period ended 31 December 2018.
Following changes made under the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 and the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act 2013, section 439 of the Act requires UK listed companies to ask shareholders to vote on the Remuneration Policy. This vote is binding and a resolution must be put before shareholders at least every three years (or when the policy changes).
The Act provides that Directors shall only allot unissued shares with the authority of shareholders in general meeting. The authority given to the Directors at the last Annual General Meeting to allot (or issue) unissued shares expires on the date of this year's Annual General Meeting.
Resolution 15 renews a similar authority given at last year's Annual General Meeting. Resolution 15 will be proposed as an ordinary resolution for the renewal of the Directors' general authority to issue shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company:
shares) and with such amount to be reduced by the nominal amount of any equity securities allotted pursuant to paragraph (a) above in excess of £11,023,234).
The Directors have no present intention of exercising either of these authorities, however consider that it is in the best interests of the Company to have the authorities available so that they have the maximum flexibility permitted by institutional shareholder guidelines to allot shares or grant rights to be allotted without the need for a general meeting should they determine that it is appropriate to do so.
As at the date of this document, no ordinary shares are held by the Company as treasury shares.
If given, the authority granted under Resolution 15 will expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier.
The Act also provides that any allotment of new shares for cash must be made pro rata to individual shareholders' holdings, unless such provisions are disapplied under section 570 of the Act. The authority given to the Directors at the last Annual General Meeting to allot shares for cash pursuant to section 570 of the Act expires on the date of this year's Annual General Meeting.
Resolutions 16 and 17 which will be proposed as special resolutions will enable the Directors' to allot equity securities for cash or sell treasury shares for cash, without first offering them to shareholders pro rata to their holdings. These resolutions take the same form as the resolutions proposed at last year's Annual General Meeting.
Resolution 16 facilitates issues made by way of rights to shareholders which are not strictly in accordance with section 561(1) of the Act, and authorises other allotments of up to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of £1,653,485, representing approximately 5 per cent of the current issued ordinary share capital of the Company without having to comply with statutory pre-emption rights. This resolution renews the authority obtained at last year's Annual General Meeting. If given, the authority granted under Resolution 16 will expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2019 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier.
Resolution 17 seeks authority to allot an additional maximum aggregate nominal amount of £1,653,485, representing approximately 5 per cent of the current issued ordinary share capital of the Company without having to comply with statutory pre-emption rights. Like last year, the power proposed under Resolution 17 will be limited for use only for the purposes of financing (or refinancing, if such refinancing occurs within six months of 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. If given, the authority granted under Resolution 17 will expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2020 or on the date falling not more than 15 calendar months after the passing of this resolution, whichever is earlier.
The Directors intend to adhere to the Statement of Principles issued by The Pre Emption Group, as updated in March 2015, and not allot shares on a non pre emptive basis pursuant to the authority in Resolution 16 in excess of an amount equal to 7.5 per cent of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares) within a rolling three year period, without prior consultation with shareholders.
Under article 9 of the Articles the Company is empowered to purchase its own shares. The Directors consider that the power to make purchases in the market of the Company's own shares should be maintained and accordingly recommend the approval of the special resolution set out as Resolution 18. The Directors intend to exercise this authority only where, in the light of market conditions prevailing at that time, they believe that the effect of such purchases would be to increase earnings per share and would be in the best interests of the Company and of its shareholders generally. Any shares purchased in this way will be cancelled and the number of shares in issue will be reduced accordingly, or held as treasury shares. The resolution specifies the maximum and minimum prices at which shares may be bought, and the maximum number of shares which may be bought, being 10 per cent of the Company's issued ordinary share capital at 31 December 2018. At that date there were no share options over unissued shares.
Section 307A of the Act provides that a general meeting of a 'traded company' such as the Company must be called by at least 21 days' notice, but may be called by at least 14 days' notice if three conditions are met. The three conditions are:
The Directors consider it desirable that general meetings of the Company, other than the Annual General Meeting, can be called on at least 14 clear days' notice. Resolution 19, which will be proposed as a special resolution, will authorise the Company to call general meetings other than Annual General Meetings on 14 days' notice and the authority of this resolution will expire at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
Resolution 20 will be proposed as a special resolution and if passed will effect one amendment to the Articles.
In the Articles, the aggregate limit for non-executive directors' fees is £500,000. This cap has been in place at this level for the last 16 years. During this time the Company has never had more than four non-executive directors. However, following the appointment of Lili Chahbazi as non-executive director on 1 January 2018, the aggregate non-executive directors' fees is close to this limit. It is therefore proposed that an amendment is made in the Articles to increase the limit of fees for non-executive directors to £1,000,000. This will allow for the payment of fees to non-executive directors as well as additional headroom for future years.
Any members' statements, members' resolutions and members' matters of business received by the Company after the date of this notice will be added to the information already available on the website as soon as reasonably practicable and will also be made available for the following two years.
UK & Ireland Limited's ('EUI') specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The message regardless of whether it relates to the appointment of a proxy or to 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 RA 19) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in this notice of meeting. 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 Applications Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001. CREST members and where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that EUI 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 therefore 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 or 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.
If you are a person with information rights under section 146 of the Act you do not have the right to appoint a proxy. Any such forms returned by such persons will be ineffective. You may however have specific rights to instruct the member who granted you information rights as to how such member exercises their right to appoint a proxy.
Whichever form of communication is chosen, the request must either set out the statement in full or, if supporting a statement sent by another member, clearly identify the statement which is being supported, and be received by the Company at least one week before the Annual General Meeting.
The addresses at paragraphs (b) and (c) above are, in accordance with Article 178 of the Company's Articles of Association, specified solely for the purpose of communications in respect of this meeting and for no other purpose.
11. A copy of the Articles marked to show the change proposed by Resolution 20 will be available for inspection at the registered office of the Company at Springwood Court, Springwood Close, Tytherington Business Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2XF during normal business houses on each business day (Saturday, Sunday and public holidays excepted) from the date of this notice until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting. Copies of the Executive Directors' service contracts and Non-executive Directors' letters of appointment will be available for inspection at the Company's registered office during normal business hours on each business day (Saturday, Sundays and public holidays excepted) from the date of this notice until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting. The documents referred to above will also be available for inspection at the place of the meeting from at least 15 minutes before the meeting until it ends.
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