AGM Information • Apr 4, 2023
AGM Information
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IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT AS TO WHAT ACTION YOU SHOULD TAKE, YOU ARE RECOMMENDED TO SEEK YOUR OWN FINANCIAL ADVICE IMMEDIATELY FROM YOUR STOCKBROKER, BANK MANAGER, SOLICITOR, ACCOUNTANT OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVISER AUTHORISED UNDER THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000.
COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE BEING SENT TO SHAREHOLDERS. IF YOU HAVE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED ALL OF YOUR ORDINARY SHARES IN THE COMPANY, PLEASE FORWARD THIS DOCUMENT TOGETHER WITH THE ACCOMPANYING ANNUAL REPORT AND FORM OF PROXY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO THE PURCHASER OR TRANSFEREE OR TO THE STOCKBROKER, BANK MANAGER OR OTHER AGENT THROUGH WHOM THE SALE OR TRANSFER WAS EFFECTED FOR DELIVERY TO THE PURCHASER OR TRANSFEREE. IF YOU HAVE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED PART ONLY OF YOUR HOLDING OF ORDINARY SHARES, YOU SHOULD RETAIN THIS DOCUMENT AND CONSULT THE STOCKBROKER, BANK MANAGER OR OTHER AGENT THROUGH WHOM THE SALE OR TRANSFER WAS EFFECTED.
(Incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 4948078)
Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held at 10 York Road, London SE1 7ND at 12.30pm on Wednesday 10 May 2023 is set out at the end of this document. A Form of Proxy for use at the Meeting is enclosed. Shareholders are requested to complete and return the Form of Proxy accompanying this document in accordance with the instructions set out therein to the Company's Registrars, Share Registrars Limited, 3 The Millennium Centre, Crosby Way, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7XX as soon as possible but in any event by no later than 12.30pm on 8 May 2023.
Mr C Jones (Chair) Mr S Mukerji (Chief Executive) Mr S Longfield (Chief Financial Officer) Mr C W Eccleshare (Senior Independent Director) Mrs C Hosey (Non-Executive Director) Ms L-A Reed (Non-Executive Director) Mr R Staveley (Non-Executive Director)
10 York Road London SE1 7ND
To holders of ordinary shares of 10p each in the Company and, for information purposes only, to holders of deferred shares of 10p each in the Company.
This letter accompanies the Company's annual report for the year ended 31 December 2022 (the '2022 Annual Report') and gives details of the business to be transacted at the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Company.
We will consider all questions received and, if appropriate, provide a written response.
Notice of the Annual General Meeting is given on page 5 of this document.
Company law requires the Directors to present the Company's annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 to shareholders for formal adoption. These are included in the 2022 Annual Report.
Under the Act, the Directors must prepare an annual report detailing the remuneration of the Directors and a statement by the Chair of the Remuneration Committee (together, the 'Directors' Remuneration Report'). The Act also requires that a resolution be put to shareholders each year for their approval of that report. This resolution is an advisory vote only and the Directors' entitlement to remuneration is not conditional on it.
The Directors' Remuneration Report can be found on pages 59 to 60 and 67 to 75 of the 2022 Annual Report.
Resolution 3 proposes the final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2022. A final dividend can only be paid after its approval by shareholders. The Directors recommend a final dividend of 0.6p per ordinary share of 10p each in the capital of the Company ('ordinary share') be declared payable on 26 May 2023 to holders of ordinary shares registered at the close of business on 12 May 2023
The articles of association of the Company (the 'Articles') require Directors to stand for election at the first AGM following their appointment, and thereafter to retire by rotation. In line with best practice, the Directors have decided that all Directors not otherwise required to stand for election should offer themselves for re-election annually. Resolutions 4 to 10 propose the re-election and election of all Directors of the Company. Brief biographies of the Directors are set out in the 2022 Annual Report.
The Company is required to appoint an auditor at each Annual General Meeting at which accounts are laid before the Company, to hold office until the conclusion of the next such meeting. The Audit Committee has reviewed the effectiveness, independence and objectivity of the external auditor, Crowe U.K. LLP ('Crowe') on behalf of the Board, who now propose resolution 11 to reappoint Crowe as auditor of the Company. Resolution 12 authorises the Audit Committee to negotiate and agree the remuneration of the auditor.
The resolution asks shareholders to grant the Directors authority under section 551 Companies Act 2006 (the 'Act') to allot shares or grant such subscription or conversion rights as are contemplated by sections 551(1)(a) and (b) respectively of the Act up to a maximum aggregate nominal value of £9,790,669.80 being approximately 66.67% (two thirds) of the nominal value of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares) as at 14 March 2023. As at 14 March 2023, the Company held 4,550,179 treasury shares representing 3.01% of the total ordinary issued share capital of the Company. £4,895,334.90 of this authority is reserved for a fully pre-emptive rights issue. This is the maximum permitted amount under best practice corporate governance guidelines. The authority will expire at the next Annual General Meeting of the Company. The Directors have no present intention of exercising such authority other than to allot shares pursuant to the Company's share schemes in the ordinary course
If the Directors wish to allot new shares and other equity securities, or sell treasury shares, for cash (other than in connection with an employee share scheme), company law requires that these shares are offered first to shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings.
Resolution 14 deals with the authority of the Directors to allot new shares or other equity securities pursuant to the authority given by resolution 13, or sell treasury shares, for cash without the shares or other equity securities first being offered to shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. Such authority shall only be used in connection with a pre-emptive offer, or otherwise, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £734,300.20, being approximately 5% of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares) as at 14 March 2023.
The Pre-emption Group Statement of Principles supports the annual disapplication of pre-emption rights in respect of allotments of shares and other equity securities (and sales of treasury shares for cash) representing no more than an additional 5% of issued ordinary share capital (exclusive of treasury shares), to be used only in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment. The Pre-emption Group's Statement of Principles defines 'specified capital investment' as meaning one or more specific capital investment related uses for the proceeds of an issuance of equity securities, in respect of which sufficient information regarding the effect of the transaction on the Company, the assets the subject of the transaction and (where appropriate) the profits attributable to them is made available to shareholders to enable them to reach an assessment of the potential return.
Accordingly, and in line with the template resolutions published by the Pre-emption Group, resolution 15 seeks to authorise the Directors to allot new shares and other equity securities pursuant to the authority given by resolution 13, or sell treasury shares, for cash up to a further nominal amount of £734,300.20, being approximately 5% of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 14 March 2023, only in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment which is announced contemporaneously with the allotment, or which has taken place in the preceding twelve-month period and is disclosed in the announcement of the issue. If the authority given in resolution 15 is used, the Company will publish details of the placing in its next annual report.
If these resolutions are passed, the authorities will expire at the end of the next AGM or on 30 June 2024, whichever is the earlier.
The Board considers the authorities in resolutions 14 and 15 to be appropriate in order to allow the Company flexibility to finance business opportunities or to conduct a rights issue or other pre-emptive offer without the need to comply with the strict requirements of the statutory pre-emption provisions.
Resolution 16 seeks authority from holders of ordinary shares for the Company to make market purchases of its own ordinary shares, such authority being limited to the purchase of 14,686,004 ordinary shares with an aggregate nominal value of £1,468,600.40, being 10% of the ordinary shares in issue as at 14 March 2023 (excluding shares in treasury).
The Company's exercise of this authority is subject to the stated upper and lower limits on the price payable, the upper limit being the price stipulated in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 as referred to in Article 5(6) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation, and the Listing Rules.
The authority to purchase the Company's own ordinary shares will only be exercised if the Directors consider that there is likely to be a beneficial impact on earnings per ordinary share and that it is in the best interests of the Company at the time. The Act permits the Company to hold shares in treasury, as an alternative to cancelling them, following a purchase of own shares by the Company. Shares held in treasury may subsequently be cancelled, sold for cash or used to satisfy share options and share awards under the Company's employees' share schemes. 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.
If the Directors exercise the authority conferred by resolution 16, they may consider holding those shares in treasury, rather than cancelling them. The Directors believe that holding shares in treasury would provide the Company with greater flexibility in the management of its share capital. The Directors will also consider using the treasury shares to satisfy share options/awards under the Company's employees' share schemes.
The total number of options to subscribe for ordinary shares that were outstanding at 14 March 2023 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this circular) was 7,395,330. The proportion of issued share capital that they represented at that time was 5.04% and the proportion of issued share capital that they will represent if the full authority to purchase shares (existing and being sought) is used is 6.29%.
If resolution 16 is passed, the authority will expire at the end of the next AGM or on 30 June 2024, whichever is the earlier.
Resolution 17 seeks authority from shareholders to hold general meetings (other than Annual General Meetings) on 14 days' clear notice. This is permissible under the Articles and the Act. However, pursuant to the Companies Shareholders' Rights Regulations 2009, specific shareholder approval is required annually in order to retain this ability and shareholders must have the facility to vote by electronic means at the relevant meeting. Although the Company does not currently offer such a facility, the Directors believe that there may be circumstances in which it will be important for the Company to be able to call meetings at such short notice (at which shareholders would be able to vote electronically). Accordingly, the Directors believe that it is important for the Company to retain this flexibility.
You will find enclosed with the Notice of Annual General Meeting a Form of Proxy. You are requested to complete the Form of Proxy and return it in accordance with the instructions printed thereon so that it is received as soon as possible and in any event by not later than 12.30pm on 8 May 2023.
The Annual General Meeting will be held at 10 York Road, London SE1 7ND.
The Directors believe that the resolutions set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting ('AGM') are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of all of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM. The Directors who own ordinary shares intend to vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM.
Yours sincerely
Colin Jones Chair
(Incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 4948078)
NOTICE is hereby given that the nineteenth Annual General Meeting of Centaur Media Plc (the 'Company') will be held at 10 York Road, London SE1 7ND on Wednesday 10 May 2023 at 12.30pm to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolutions, of which numbers 1 to 13 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and numbers 14 to 17 will be proposed as special resolutions.
such authorities to apply in substitution for all previous authorities pursuant to Section 551 of the 2006 Act and to expire at the end of the next Annual General Meeting or on 30 June 2024, whichever is the earlier, but in each case so that the Company may make offers and enter into agreements during the relevant period 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 authority ends.
For the purposes of this Resolution, 'rights issue' means an offer to:
to subscribe for further securities by means of the issue of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable document) 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.
such authority to expire at the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 30 June 2024) but, in each case, prior to its expiry the Company may make offers, and enter into agreements, which would, or might, require equity securities to be allotted (and treasury shares to be sold) after the authority expires and the Board may allot equity securities (and sell treasury shares) under any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not expired.
such authority to expire at the end of the next AGM of the Company or, if earlier, on 30 June 2024 but, in each case, prior to its expiry the Company may make offers, and enter into agreements, which would, or might, require equity securities to be allotted (and treasury shares to be sold) after the authority expires and the Board may allot equity securities (and sell treasury shares) under any such offer or agreement as if the authority had not expired.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD 4 April 2023
Helen Silver Company Secretary
10 York Road London SE1 7ND
In order for a proxy appointment to be valid, the proxy (together with the power of attorney or other authority (if any) under which it is executed) must be received by Share Registrars Limited by 12:30pm on Monday 8 May 2023.
Completion of the Form of Proxy will not prevent a member from attending and voting in person.
Executive Directors' service contracts and letters of appointment of the Non-Executive Directors.
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