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Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC — Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement 2015
Feb 26, 2015
5306_agm-r_2015-02-26_c82e4736-c654-47f2-a2c1-7a79c152b673.pdf
Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement
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IHG®
InterContinental Hotels Group
Notice of Annual General Meeting of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC
to be held at:
InterContinental London Park Lane,
One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London W1J 7QY,
on Friday, 8 May 2015, at 11.00am.
This document is important and requires your immediate attention
If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you should consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other professional adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
If you have sold or otherwise transferred all your shares in InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (the 'Company'), please pass this document and the accompanying Form of Proxy to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom you made the sale or transfer for forwarding on to the purchaser or transferee.
A Form of Proxy for the Annual General Meeting (the 'AGM') of the Company is enclosed and, to be valid, should be completed, signed and returned so as to reach the Company's Registrar, Equiniti, by no later than 11.00am on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 (or, if the AGM is adjourned, 48 hours before the time of the adjourned AGM (excluding any UK non-working days)). Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not prevent you from attending the AGM and voting in person, should you so wish.
Electronic Proxy Appointment is available for this AGM. This facility enables shareholders to lodge their proxy appointment by electronic means through the Registrar's website at www.sharevote.co.uk or, for those who hold their shares in CREST, through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service. Further details are set out in the notes to this document.
At the AGM itself, the votes will be taken by poll rather than on a show of hands. The results of the polls will be announced as soon as practicable and will appear on the Company's website at www.ihgplc.com/investors under financial library.
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting ('AGM') of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (the 'Company') will be held at InterContinental London Park Lane, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London W1J 7QY on Friday, 8 May 2015, at 11.00am, or at any adjournment thereof, for the following purposes:
Resolutions
To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following resolutions, of which numbers 1 to 8 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and numbers 9 to 11 as special resolutions. Explanations of certain resolutions are given on pages 4 and 5 of this Notice of AGM.
1 Report and Accounts 2014
THAT the Company's financial statements, together with the Directors' and the Auditor's Reports for the year ended 31 December 2014, be received.
2 Directors' Remuneration Report 2014
THAT the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2014 of the Company's Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014 be approved.
3 Declaration of final dividend
THAT a final dividend on the ordinary shares of 15 265/329 pence each in the capital of the Company ('ordinary share(s)') be declared.
4 Election and re-election of Directors
As separate resolutions, THAT (a) Anne Busquet, and (b) Jo Harlow be elected; and (c) Patrick Cescau, (d) Ian Dyson, (e) Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, (f) Jennifer Laing, (g) Luke Mayhew, (h) Jill McDonald, (i) Dale Morrison, (j) Tracy Robbins, (k) Richard Solomons and (l) Ying Yeh be re-elected as Directors of the Company.
5 Reappointment of Auditor
THAT Ernst & Young LLP be reappointed as the Auditor of the Company to hold office until the conclusion of the next General Meeting at which accounts are laid before the Company.
6 Remuneration of Auditor
THAT the Audit Committee of the Board be authorised to determine the Auditor's remuneration.
7 Political donations
i THAT the Company, and those companies which are subsidiaries of the Company at any time during the period for which this resolution has effect, be authorised for the purposes of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2006 (the '2006 Act'), during the period from the date of the passing of this resolution until the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016 or the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier:
(a) to make political donations to political parties and/or independent election candidates;
(b) to make political donations to political organisations other than political parties; and
(c) to incur political expenditure;
provided that the aggregate amount of any such donations and expenditure made by the Company or any subsidiary shall not exceed £100,000;
ii THAT all existing authorisations and approvals relating to political donations or expenditure are hereby revoked without prejudice to any donation made or expenditure incurred prior to the date hereof pursuant to such authorisations or approvals; and
iii THAT words and expressions defined for the purposes of the 2006 Act shall have the same meaning for the purposes of this resolution.
8 Allotment of shares
i THAT the Directors be and are hereby generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to, and in accordance with, Section 551 of the 2006 Act to exercise all powers of the Company to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, shares in the Company:
(a) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £12,439,814; and
(b) comprising equity securities, as defined in Section 560 of the 2006 Act, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £24,879,628 (including within such limit any shares issued or rights granted under paragraph (a) above) in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue:
(1) to holders of ordinary shares in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to their existing holdings; and
(2) to holders of other equity securities as required by the rights of those securities or, if the Directors consider it necessary, as permitted by the rights of those securities;
and so that the Directors 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, shares represented by depository receipts, legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws of, or the requirements of any recognised regulatory body or any stock exchange in, any territory or any other matter whatsoever.
This authority shall hereby take effect from the date of the passing of this resolution until the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, or the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier, provided that, in each case, the Company may, before this authority expires, make offers and enter into agreements which would, or might, require shares in the Company to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares to be granted after this authority expires and the Directors may allot shares in the Company or grant rights under any such offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired;
ii THAT subject to paragraph iii below, all existing authorities given to the Directors pursuant to Section 551 of the 2006 Act by way of the ordinary resolution of the Company passed on Friday, 2 May 2014 be revoked by this resolution; and
iii THAT paragraph ii above shall be without prejudice to the continuing authority of the Directors to allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for, or convert any security into, shares pursuant to an offer or agreement made by the Company before the expiry of the authority pursuant to which such offer or agreement was made.
Notice of Annual General Meeting continued
9 Disapplication of pre-emption rights
THAT, subject to the passing of Resolution 8 above, and in place of the power given to them pursuant to the special resolution of the Company passed on Friday, 2 May 2014, the Directors be given the power pursuant to Sections 570 and 573 of the 2006 Act to allot equity securities [as defined in Section 560 of the 2006 Act] for cash pursuant to the authority given by Resolution 8 as if Section 561 of the 2006 Act did not apply to the allotment. This power shall be limited:
i to the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer of equity securities [but in the case of the authority granted under Resolution 8i(b), by way of a rights issue only] to or in favour of:
[a] holders of ordinary shares in proportion [as nearly as may be practicable] to their existing holdings; and
[b] holders of other equity securities, if this is required by the rights of those securities or, if the Directors consider it necessary, as permitted by the rights of those securities;
and so that the Directors 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, shares represented by depositary receipts, legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws of, or the requirements of any recognised regulatory body or any stock exchange in, any territory or any other matter whatsoever; and
ii in the case of the authority granted under Resolution 8i(a), to the allotment [otherwise than under paragraph i above] of equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,957,157.
This authority shall hereby take effect from the date of the passing of this resolution until the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, or the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier, provided that before this authority expires the Company may make offers, and enter into agreements, which would, or might, require equity securities to be allotted after this authority expires and the Directors may allot equity securities under any such offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired.
This power applies in relation to a sale of shares which is an allotment of equity securities by virtue of Section 560(3) of the 2006 Act as if, in the first paragraph of this resolution, the words 'pursuant to the authority given by Resolution 8' were omitted.
10 Authority to purchase own shares
THAT the Company be and is hereby generally and unconditionally authorised for the purpose of Section 701 of the 2006 Act to make market purchases (within the meaning of Section 693(4) of the 2006 Act) of ordinary shares on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit provided that:
i the maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares hereby authorised to be purchased is 23,611,725;
ii the minimum price which may be paid for each ordinary share is 15 265/229 pence per share;
iii the maximum price (exclusive of all expenses) which may be paid for each ordinary share is an amount equal to the higher of (a) 105 per cent of the average of the middle-market quotations for the Company's ordinary shares as derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which such share is contracted to be purchased; and (b) that stipulated by Article 5(1) of the Buy-back and Stabilisation Regulations 2003; and
iv the authority hereby conferred shall take effect on the date of the passing of this resolution and shall expire on the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, or at the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier (except in relation to the purchase of ordinary shares the contract for which was concluded before such date and which is executed wholly or partly after such date), unless such authority is renewed prior to such time.
11 Notice of General Meetings
THAT a General Meeting of the Company, other than an AGM, may be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice during the period from the date of the passing of this resolution to the date upon which the Company's AGM in 2016 concludes.
By order of the Board
George Turner
Company Secretary
16 February 2015
Registered in England and Wales
Registered Number:
5134420
Registered Office:
Broadwater Park
Denham, Buckinghamshire
UB9 5HR
Explanation of business
Supporting information on the election and re-election of Directors and an explanation of some of the technical items of business are presented below.
Resolution 2 Directors' Remuneration Report 2014
The Directors' Remuneration Report set out on pages 76 to 91 of the Company's Annual Report and Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2014 sets out the Remuneration Committee Chairman's Statement, a summary of the previously approved Directors' Remuneration Policy and the remuneration received or receivable by Directors in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014. The vote on the Directors' Remuneration Report is advisory in nature, which means that payments made or promised to Directors will not have to be repaid, reduced or withheld in the event that this resolution is not passed. The Company's Auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, has audited those parts of the Directors' Remuneration Report that are required to be audited.
Resolution 3 Declaration of final dividend
A final dividend can only be paid after the shareholders have approved it. If approved, the final dividend of 33.8 pence per ordinary share (52.0 cents per American Depositary Receipt) will be paid on 15 May 2015 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 7 April 2015.
Resolutions 4(a) to 4(l) Election and re-election of Directors
The Company's Articles of Association require that (i) any new Directors appointed by the Board since the last AGM shall retire at the next AGM and be subject to election; and (ii) all other Directors shall retire at least every three years and, if they wish to continue serving in office, be subject to re-election. However, in accordance with the recommendations of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2012 (the 'Code'), all Directors are retiring and seeking re-election at this AGM.
Each election and re-election will be put as a separate resolution. The Board believes that the current composition of the Board provides an appropriate balance of Executive Directors and independent Non-Executive Directors who collectively have the appropriate balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge to enable the Board to discharge its duties and responsibilities effectively.
An internal Board effectiveness evaluation was conducted for 2014 and it confirmed that the Board continued to operate effectively, and that each Director brings relevant knowledge, diversity of perspective, an ability and willingness to challenge and retains a strong commitment to the role.
Jennifer Laing has served on the Board for over nine years and the Nomination Committee has specifically reviewed her independence and is satisfied that she continues to demonstrate independence in character and judgement and is independent as required under the Code. The Board has also considered this and reached the same conclusion. As Ying Yeh has also been on the Board for over six years, both her and Jennifer's continued appointments were the subject of particular review and scrutiny by the Nomination Committee and the Board.
All Non-Executive Directors, excluding the Chairman, remain independent in judgement and character.
The Board as a whole is fully committed to the successful development of the business, to meeting the Company's strategic objectives and to the delivery of shareholder value.
Biographies of all current Directors, excluding Anne Busquet, are shown on pages 57 to 59 of the Company's Annual Report and Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2014 and on the Company's website at www.ihgplc.com/investors under Our management. The biographies of Jo Harlow and Anne Busquet, who are seeking formal election for the first time (having been, or to be, appointed to the Board as Non-Executive Directors on 1 September 2014 and 1 March 2015 respectively), are set out below.
Anne Busquet
Skills and experience: Anne began her career at Hilton International in Paris, before joining the American Express Company in New York, where she held several executive positions and served for 23 years. Anne was also the Chief Executive Officer of Local and Media Services at InterActiveCorp (IAC), an internet commerce conglomerate.
Board contribution: Anne brings more than 20 years' experience in senior positions in multinational companies, predominantly in the financial, branded and digital-commerce sectors.
Other appointments: Anne is currently the President of AMB Advisors, an independent consulting firm, and the Managing Director at Golden Seeds LLC, an angel investment company. She also serves on the boards of Pitney Bowes, MTBC and Provista Diagnostics, Inc and on the advisory boards of JEGI and SheSpeaks.
Jo Harlow
Skills and experience: Jo has held the position of Corporate Vice President of the Phones Business Unit at Microsoft Corporation since May 2014. She was previously Executive Vice President of Smart Devices at Nokia Corporation from February 2011, following a number of senior management roles at Nokia since 2003. Prior to that, she held marketing, sales and management roles at Reebok International Limited from 1992 to 2003 and at Procter & Gamble Company from 1984 to 1992.
Board Contribution: Jo has over 25 years' experience working in various senior roles predominantly in the branded and technology sectors.
The Board recommends that all Directors continue to serve as Directors of the Company¹.
Resolution 7 Political donations
It remains the policy of the Company not to make political donations or incur political expenditure. However, to avoid inadvertent infringement of the widely drafted 2006 Act, the Directors are seeking shareholders' authority for the Company and its UK subsidiaries to make political donations and to incur political expenditure, up to a maximum aggregate amount of £100,000 during the period from the date of this AGM until the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016 or the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier.
¹ Copies of contracts of service or letters of appointment for each of the Directors will be available to members for inspection at the Registered Office of the Company during normal business hours from the date of this Notice of AGM until the date of the AGM and, on that day, at the place of the AGM at least 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the AGM until its conclusion.
Explanation of business continued
Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries made any political donations during the year and the Company proposes to maintain its policy of not making such payments.
Resolution 8 Allotment of shares
The Investment Association's (IA) guidelines state that IA members will permit, and treat as routine, (i) a request for authorisation to allot up to one-third of the current total issued share capital of the Company, together with the number of shares required to be allotted in respect of share incentive schemes; and (ii) a request for authorisation to allot up to a further one-third of the Company's current total issued share capital, provided that such additional allotment is only applied to fully pre-emptive rights issues. The Board considers it appropriate that the Company should follow these guidelines.
Accordingly, under Resolution 8(a), the Directors are seeking authority to allot shares and grant rights to subscribe for, or convert securities into, shares up to an aggregate nominal amount of £12,439,814 pursuant to Section 551 of the 2006 Act, which is equivalent to approximately one-third of the total issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares²) as at 16 February 2015, the latest practicable date prior to publication of this Notice of AGM ('Latest Practicable Date'). Under Resolution 8(b), the Directors are seeking authority to allot ordinary shares in connection with a rights issue in favour of ordinary shareholders up to a further aggregate nominal amount of £12,439,814, which is equivalent to approximately one-third of the total issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares²) as at the Latest Practicable Date.
Therefore, the total authorisation sought by Resolution 8 is equal to approximately two-thirds of the total issued share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares²) as at the Latest Practicable Date.
The Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority other than in connection with the Company's share incentive schemes, but they consider it desirable to have the maximum flexibility permitted by corporate governance guidelines. If such authority is exercised, the Directors intend to follow best practice with respect to its use as recommended by the IA, including that all Directors will stand for re-election.
This authority will expire on the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016 or at the close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier.
Resolution 9 Disapplication of pre-emption rights
The Directors, pursuant to Section 561 of the 2006 Act, are seeking authority to allot shares for cash without first being required to offer such securities to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing shareholdings and to dispose of shares held in treasury, other than by way of a rights issue or in connection with any other pre-emptive offer, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,957,157, which is equivalent to approximately 5 per cent of the total issued share capital (including treasury shares²) of the Company as at the Latest Practicable Date.
In line with the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, the Directors do not intend to allot shares for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis (other than pursuant to a rights issue or pre-emptive offer) in excess of an amount equal to 7.5 per cent of the total issued ordinary share capital of the Company (excluding treasury shares²) within a rolling three-year period, without prior consultation with the shareholders.
This authority will expire on the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, or at close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier.
Resolution 10 Authority to purchase own shares
The Company is seeking authority to purchase up to 23,611,725 ordinary shares, being approximately 10 per cent of its total issued share capital (excluding treasury shares²) as at the Latest Practicable Date, at, or between, the minimum and maximum prices specified in this resolution. This power would be used only after careful consideration by the Directors, having taken into account market conditions prevailing at that time, the investment needs of the Company, its opportunities for expansion and its overall financial position. The Directors would exercise this authority to purchase ordinary shares only if they considered it to be in the best interests of shareholders and if the purchase could be expected to result in an increase in earnings per share. The Company may either cancel any shares it purchases under this authority or transfer them into treasury. On 29 May 2014, we completed our $500m share buyback programme, which was announced on 7 August 2012 and commenced on 12 November 2012. In the period from 3 May 2014 to the Latest Practicable Date, no ordinary shares were repurchased and held as treasury shares and 296,992 ordinary shares of 14 194/329 pence each (which were the ordinary shares prior to the share consolidation (effective as of 1 July 2014) on the basis of 12 ordinary shares of 15 265/329 pence each for 13 ordinary shares of 14 194/329 pence each) were repurchased and cancelled under the authority granted at the Company's AGM on Friday, 2 May 2014.
At the Latest Practicable Date, there were no outstanding options to subscribe for ordinary shares in the Company.
This authority will expire on the conclusion of the Company's AGM in 2016, or at close of business on 1 July 2016, whichever is the earlier.
Resolution 11 Notice of General Meetings
Under the Companies (Shareholders' Rights) Regulations 2009 the notice period for General Meetings (other than AGMs) has been extended to not less than 21 clear days. The Company is able to preserve the authority to call a General Meeting, other than an AGM, on not less than 14 clear days' notice, provided shareholders have approved this by passing a special resolution annually. Accordingly, Resolution 11 is seeking to renew the authority granted at the AGM in 2014. The Company will give due consideration to whether to use the reduced notice period for the calling of a General Meeting, as permitted by the passing of this resolution, and will not use it as a matter of routine but only where such flexibility is necessary. If this authority is used, the Company will comply with the requirement to provide appropriate facilities for shareholders to vote by electronic means at General Meetings held on less than 21 clear days' notice. If given, this authority will be valid until the Company's AGM in 2016, at which it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed.
The Directors believe that the adoption of all the Resolutions set out in this Notice of AGM are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favour of the Resolutions, as each Director intends to do in respect of his or her own beneficial holdings.
2 Treasury shares are shares in the Company which are owned by the Company itself. The Company, following purchase of its own shares, is able to hold such shares in treasury instead of cancelling them. Such shares may subsequently be resold for cash, transferred to an employee share scheme or cancelled. Any shares bought back by the Company and held in treasury will not rank for dividends and will not carry any voting rights. The Company's Articles of Association provide for dealing with treasury shares, including ensuring that the sale of treasury shares by the Company is subject to the same pre-emption rights (and exceptions) as the allotment of new shares. As at the Latest Practicable Date, the Company held 11,538,456 ordinary shares as treasury shares representing approximately 4.89% of the total issued share capital (excluding treasury shares).
Technical notes
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A member is entitled to appoint another person, who need not be a member, as his/her proxy to exercise all or any of his/her rights to attend, speak and vote at this AGM or any adjournment thereof. A member may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the AGM, provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by that member.
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A Form of Proxy is enclosed. To be valid, the Form of Proxy must be received by the Company's Registrar, Equiniti, by no later than 11.00am on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 or, if the AGM is adjourned, 48 hours before the time of the adjourned AGM (excluding any UK non-working days). The appointment of a proxy will not prevent a member from subsequently attending, speaking and voting at the AGM in person.
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If you wish, you may register the appointment of a proxy for this AGM electronically, by logging on to the Registrar's website at www.sharevote.co.uk where details of the procedure are shown. The Voting ID, Task ID and Shareholder Reference Number shown on your Form of Proxy will be required to complete the procedure. Electronic Proxy Appointment will not be valid if received after 11.00am on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 or, if the AGM is adjourned, 48 hours before the time of the adjourned AGM (excluding any UK non-working days), and will not be accepted if found to contain a computer virus.
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CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so for this AGM by using the procedures described in the CREST Manual available by logging in to the Euroclear website at www.euroclear.com. 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. In order to be valid, the appropriate CREST Proxy Instruction must be transmitted so as to be received by the Company's agent (CREST participant ID RA19) by 11.00am on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 or, if the AGM is adjourned, 48 hours before the time of the adjourned AGM (excluding any UK non-working days). For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the time stamp applied to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the Company'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. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that Euroclear does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular message. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST 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/her CREST sponsor(s) 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 system providers) are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
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.
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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 if two or more representatives purport to vote in respect of the same shares: (i) if they purport to exercise the power in the same way as each other, the power is treated as exercised in that way; and (ii) in other cases, the power is treated as not exercised.
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The right to appoint a proxy does not apply to persons whose shares are held on their behalf by another person and who have been nominated to receive communications from the Company in accordance with Section 146 of the 2006 Act ('Nominated Persons'). Nominated Persons may have a right under an agreement with the member who holds the shares on their behalf to be appointed (or to have someone else appointed) as a proxy for the AGM. If Nominated Persons do not have such a right, or do not wish to exercise it, they may have a right under such an agreement to give instructions to the person holding the shares as to the exercise of voting rights.
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Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Company (including this AGM). On a vote by show of hands, every member who is present has one vote and every proxy present who has been duly appointed by a member entitled to vote has one vote, unless the proxy has been appointed by more than one member and has been instructed by one or more members to vote for the resolution and by one or more members to vote against the resolution, in which case the proxy has one vote for and one vote against. On a poll vote, every member who is present in person or by proxy has one vote for every ordinary share of which he/she is the holder.
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The Company, pursuant to the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001, specifies that only those members on the Register of Members as at 6.00pm on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 or, if the AGM is adjourned, on the Register of Members at 6.00pm two days prior to the date of any adjourned AGM (excluding any UK non-working days), shall be entitled to attend and vote at the AGM in respect of the number of shares registered in their names at that time. Changes to entries on the Register of Members after the relevant above-mentioned deadline shall be disregarded in determining the right of any person to attend and vote at the AGM.
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As at the Latest Practicable Date, the Company's total issued share capital consisted of 236,117,256 ordinary shares, carrying one vote each, excluding any ordinary shares held as treasury shares. As at the Latest Practicable Date, the Company held 11,538,456 ordinary shares as treasury shares, representing approximately 4.89 per cent of the Company's issued share capital (excluding treasury shares) as at that date. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company as at the Latest Practicable Date was 236,117,256.
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Under Section 319A of the 2006 Act, any member attending the AGM has the right to ask questions in relation to the business of the AGM. The Company must cause to be answered any such question relating to the business being dealt with at the AGM but no such answer need be given if (i) to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the AGM or involve the disclosure of confidential information; (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 AGM that the question be answered.
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Under Sections 338 and 338A of the 2006 Act, members may (i) require the Company to give to members entitled to receive notice of the AGM, notice of a resolution which may properly be moved and is intended to be moved at the meeting; and (ii) request the Company to include in the business to be dealt with at the AGM any matter (other than a proposed resolution) which may be properly included in the business, provided that it is not defamatory, frivolous or vexatious or, in the case of a resolution only, it would, if passed, be ineffective (whether by reason of inconsistency with any enactment or the Company's constitution or otherwise). The Company will include such matter if sufficient requests have been received by members who have at least 5 per cent of the total voting rights or by at least 100 members who hold shares on which there has been an average sum, per member, of at least £100 paid up and submitted in the manner detailed in Sections 338 and 338A of the 2006 Act.
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Members should also note that it is possible that, pursuant to requests made under Section 527 of the 2006 Act, the Company may be required to publish on a website a statement setting out any matter relating to (i) the audit of the Company's financial statements (including the Auditor's Report and the conduct of the audit) that are to be laid before the AGM, or (ii) any circumstance connected with an Auditor of the Company appointed since the previous meeting at which the Annual Report and Form 20-F were laid. The Company may not require the members requesting such website publication to pay its expenses in complying with Sections 527 or 528 of the 2006 Act. Where the Company is required to place a statement under Section 527 of the 2006 Act, it must forward the statement to the Company's Auditor not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website. The business which may be dealt with at the AGM includes any statement that the Company has been required under Section 527 of the 2006 Act to publish on a website.
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Members may not use any electronic address provided in either this Notice of AGM or any related documents (including the Form of Proxy) to communicate with the Company for any purposes other than those expressly stated.
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A copy of this Notice of AGM and other information required by Section 311A of the 2006 Act can be found at the Company's corporate website at www.ihgplc.com/investors under financial library.
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Certain items will not be permitted in the AGM. These include cameras, recording equipment, items of any nature with potential to cause disorder and such other items as the Chairman of the AGM may specify. We reserve the right to confiscate these items for the duration of the AGM if they are used to record or otherwise disrupt the AGM.
IHG®
InterContinental Stock Group
www.ihgplc.com