Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Apr 24, 2017
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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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 or other independent adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
If you have sold or transferred all of your ordinary shares in Empiric Student Property plc ("Shares"), you should pass this document together with any 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.
(incorporated and registered in England and Wales under number 08886906)
Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held at the offices of Newgate Communications, Sky Light City Tower, 50 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5DE on 25 May 2017 commencing at 11.00 a.m. is set out on pages 2 to 5 of this document.
Whether or not you propose to attend the Annual General Meeting, please complete and submit a proxy appointment in accordance with the instructions herein. The proxy appointment must be received by no later than 11.00 a.m. on 23 May 2017.
(incorporated and registered in England and Wales under number 08886906)
Registered Office: Swan House 17-19 Stratford Place London W1C 1BQ
To the holders of Empiric Student Property plc Shares
Dear Shareholder
I am pleased to be writing to you with details of our 2017 Annual General Meeting ("AGM") which will be held at the offices of Newgate Communications, Sky Light City Tower, 50 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5DE on Thursday 25 May 2017 commencing at 11.00 a.m. The formal notice of the AGM is set out on pages 2 to 5 of this document.
If you would like to vote on the Resolutions but cannot come to the meeting, please fill in the enclosed proxy form and return it to our registrars as soon as possible. The registrars must receive your proxy appointment by 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday 23 May 2017.
Explanatory notes on all the business to be considered at this year's AGM appear on pages 6 to 7 of this document.
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. The Board therefore recommends that you vote in favour of the Resolutions and Board members intend to do so in respect of their own beneficial holdings.
Yours sincerely
The Rt Hon the Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde Chairman
Notice is hereby given that the 2017 Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of Empiric Student Property plc ("ESP" or "the Company") will be held at the offices of Newgate Communications, Sky Light City Tower, 50 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5DE on Thursday 25 May 2017 at 11.00 a.m. for the purposes of considering and, if thought fit, passing the Resolutions below. Resolutions 1 to 7 (inclusive) and 11 are proposed as Ordinary Resolutions and Resolutions 8 to 10 (inclusive) are proposed as Special Resolutions.
but subject to such exclusions and other arrangements as the Directors may consider necessary or appropriate in relation to fractional entitlements, record dates, treasury shares or any legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws of any territory (including the requirements of any regulatory body or stock exchange) or any other matter; and
7.2 such authority shall expire (unless previously revoked by the Company) on the earlier of 15 months from the date of the AGM at which this Resolution is passed and the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company and in each case the Company may, before such expiry, make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or Rights to be granted after the authority has expired and the Directors may allot shares or grant Rights in pursuance of any such offer or agreement notwithstanding that this authority has expired and this authority replaces all previous authorities.
subject to the passing of Resolution 7 the Directors shall have the power to allot equity securities (pursuant to sections 570 and 573 of the Act) for cash under the authority conferred by Resolution 7 and/or sell treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to any such allotment or sale provided that this power shall be limited to:
such authority shall expire (unless previously revoked by the Company) on the earlier of 15 months from the date of the AGM at which this Resolution is passed and the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company and in each case the Company may, before such expiry, make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or Rights to be granted after the authority has expired and the Directors may allot shares or grant Rights in pursuance of any such offer or agreement notwithstanding that this authority has expired.
subject to the passing of Resolution 7 the Directors shall have the power to allot equity securities (pursuant to sections 570 and 573 of the Act) for cash under the authority conferred by Resolution 7 and/or sell treasury shares as if section 561(1) of the Act did not apply to any such allotment or sale provided that this power shall be limited to:
such authority shall expire (unless previously revoked by the Company) on the earlier of 15 months from the date of the AGM at which this Resolution is passed and the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company and in each case the Company may, before such expiry, make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or Rights to be granted after the authority has expired and the Directors may allot shares or grant Rights in pursuance of any such offer or agreement notwithstanding that this authority has expired.
the Company be, and it is hereby, generally and unconditionally authorised for the purpose of sections 693 and 701 of the Act to make one or more market purchases (within the meaning of section 693(4) of the Act) of shares upon such terms and in such manner as the Directors shall determine, provided that:
a general meeting of the Company other than an Annual General Meeting may be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice.
FIM Capital Limited Company Secretary 21 April 2017
Registered Address: 25 Bedford Square London WC1B 3HH
These notes should be read in conjunction with the notes on the Form of Proxy.
(xiv) Any question relevant to the business of the AGM may be asked at the AGM by anyone permitted to speak at the AGM. A holder of shares may alternatively submit a question in advance by a letter addressed to the Company's registered office. Under section 319A of the Companies Act 2006, the Company must answer any question a shareholder asks relating to the business being dealt with at the AGM, unless, (i) answering the question would interfere unduly with the preparation for the AGM or involve the disclosure of confidential information; (ii) the answer had 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 AGM that the question be answered.
(xv) Under section 527 of the Act, a shareholder or shareholders meeting the criteria set out in note (xvi) below, have the right to request the Company to publish on its website a statement setting out any matter that such shareholders propose to raise at the AGM relating to the audit of the Company's accounts (including the auditor's report and the conduct of the audit) that are to be laid before the AGM. Where the Company is required to publish such a statement on its website: (i) it may not require the shareholder making the request to pay any expense incurred by the Company in complying with the request; (ii) it must forward the statement to the Company's auditors no later than the time the statement is made available on the Company's website; and (iii) that statement may be dealt with as part of the business of the AGM. The request: (a) may be in hard copy form or in electronic form; (b) either set out the statement in full or, if supporting a statement sent by another shareholder, clearly identify the statement which is being supported; (c) must be authenticated by the person or persons making it; and (d) be received by the Company at least one week before the AGM.
Resolutions 1 to 7 (inclusive) and 11 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 8 to 10 (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.
The Directors of the Company must present to the meeting the audited Annual Report and Accounts.
This resolution is an ordinary resolution to approve the Annual Report on Remuneration which is set out on pages 77 to 84 of the Annual Report. The vote on this resolution is advisory only and the Directors' entitlement to remuneration is not conditional on it being passed.
The Company must appoint Auditors at each general meeting at which accounts are presented to shareholders to hold office until the conclusion of the next such meeting. Resolution 3 seeks shareholder approval to re-appoint BDO LLP as the Company's Auditors. In accordance with normal practice, Resolution 4 seeks authority for the Directors to determine the Auditor's remuneration.
The Company currently pays four dividends per annum and to date these have been approved as "interim" dividends. The alternative to this would be to declare three interim dividends with the final dividend being proposed as a "final" dividend. A final dividend however would require shareholder approval which would delay the payment. To avoid this potential delay, the Company will propose a dividend policy, annually, that enables the Company to pay all of its dividends as "interim" dividends and for the last dividend not to be categorised as a "final" dividend that is subject to shareholder approval.
At the time of Company's initial public offering in June 2014, the Company committed, pursuant to its articles of association, to provide shareholders with an opportunity to consider the continuation of the Company at the annual general meeting of the Company to be held in 2017. In line with this commitment and in accordance with the articles of association, the Company is proposing an ordinary resolution that the Company continue its business as presently constituted.
The purpose of this resolution is to renew the authority for the Directors to allot shares in the Company and grant rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares in the Company up to a further aggregate nominal value of £1,654,221 in connection with a rights issue. This amount represents approximately 33 per cent of the ordinary share capital of the Company in issue (excluding treasury shares) at 20 April 2017 (being the last practicable date prior to the publication of this notice). The Company currently holds no shares in treasury.
The Directors' authority will expire on the earlier of 15 months from the AGM or at the conclusion of the next AGM. The Directors have no present intention to make use of the authority sought under this resolution, but they consider it desirable to have the maximum flexibility permitted by corporate governance guidelines.
Resolutions 8 and 9 give the Board authority to allot shares for cash without first offering them to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings.
The powers under Resolutions 8 and 9 would be, similar to previous years, limited to (a) allotments or sales in connection with pre-emptive offers and offers to holders of other equity securities if required by the rights of those shares or as the Board otherwise considers necessary, or (b) otherwise up to a nominal amount of £250,639. This nominal amount represents approximately 5% of the issued ordinary share capital as at 20 April 2017 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this notice).
In respect of the authorities under Resolutions 8 and 9, the Board confirms its intention to follow the provisions of the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles regarding cumulative usage of authority within a rolling three-year period where the Principles provide that usage in excess of 7.5% of issued ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares) should not take place without prior consultation with shareholders, except in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment as referred to below.
The powers under Resolution 9 would also be limited to allotments up to a nominal amount of £250,639 in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment (within the meaning given in the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles). This nominal amount represents approximately 5% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at 20 April 2017, the latest practicable date prior to publication of this Notice). In respect of the authority under Resolution 9, the Board confirms that it will only allot shares pursuant to this authority where the acquisition or specified capital investment is announced contemporaneously with the allotment, or has taken place in the preceding six-month period and is disclosed in the announcement of the allotment.
The authorities under Resolutions 8 and 9 will expire on the earlier of 15 months from the AGM or at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting. Ordinary shares will only be issued pursuant to these authorities at a premium to the prevailing net asset value per share at the time of issue in order to take account of the costs of such issue and will therefore be non-dilutive to the prevailing net asset value per share for existing shareholders. The Directors believe that it is appropriate to seek an additional 5% authority in Resolution 9 to give the Company additional flexibility to finance investment opportunities.
This Resolution renews the Company's current authority to make limited market purchases of the Company's shares. The authority is limited to a maximum aggregate number of 50,127,907 shares (representing 10% of the issued share capital as at 20 April 2017 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this notice) and sets out the minimum and maximum prices that can be paid, exclusive of expenses. The authority conferred by this Resolution will expire at the conclusion of the Company's next Annual General Meeting or 15 months from the passing of the Resolution, whichever is the earlier. Any purchases of shares would be made by means of market purchase through the London Stock Exchange. In accordance with standard practice it is the current intention of the Board to seek to renew these authorities on an annual basis.
The Directors intend exercising the authority to purchase shares only if, in their opinion, the expected effect would be to result in an increase in net asset value per share and would benefit shareholders generally. Any shares purchased by the Company under this authority may be cancelled or held in treasury in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 at the option of the Board.
As at 20 April 2017 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this notice), the total number of shares under option that were outstanding under all of the Company's share option plans was 3,990,420 representing 0.8% of the Company's issued share capital at that date. This number of outstanding shares under option could potentially represent 0.9% of the issued capital of the Company if the Company were to purchase its own shares to the fullest possible extent of its authority from shareholders.
The Act provides that the notice period required for general meetings of the Company must be at least 21 clear days unless shareholders approve a shorter notice period, which cannot be less than 14 clear days (annual general meetings will continue to be held on at least 21 clear days' notice). This resolution seeks shareholder approval to hold general meetings after giving notice of 14 or more clear days. The approval will be effective until the next Annual General Meeting, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
The Act provides that, 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 for that meeting.
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