AGM Information • Jul 31, 2019
AGM Information
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This document is important and requires your immediate attention. 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 consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent professional adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent professional adviser, without delay.
If you have sold or transferred all of your Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company and, as a result, no longer hold any Ordinary Shares in the Company, please send this document as soon as possible to the purchaser or transferee, or to the person through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or transferee. If you have sold only part of your holding of Ordinary Shares in the Company, you should retain the documents and consult the person through whom the sale was effected.
A Shareholder may appoint one or more proxies to exercise all or any of their rights to attend, speak and vote at the meeting, provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different Ordinary Share or Ordinary Shares held by that Shareholder. A proxy need not be a member of the Company. To be valid, any form of proxy or other instrument appointing a proxy must be received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand at the Company's Registrar, at the address shown on the form of proxy, or in the case of shares held through CREST, via the CREST system, or if submitting the proxy vote electronically, via the Registrar's website, by no later than 11.45 am on Sunday, 12 January 2020.
(the "Company")
(registered in England and Wales under number 01009550)
Notice of the forty-seventh Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held at 11.45 am on Tuesday, 14 January 2020 at the ICAEW, Members Room, Chartered Accountants' Hall, One Moorgate Place, London EC2R 6EA
LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Dear Shareholder,
I am pleased to advise that the forty-seventh Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of the Company will be held at the ICAEW, Members Room, Chartered Accountants' Hall, One Moorgate Place, London EC2R 6EA on Tuesday, 14 January 2020 at 11.45 am. The formal Notice of the AGM, which follows this letter, sets out the business to be considered at the meeting.
Shareholders are being asked to vote on various items of business, being: the receipt and acceptance of the Annual Report and the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2019; the approval of the Directors' Remuneration Report; the approval of the final ordinary dividend; the re-election of Directors; the re-appointment of Deloitte LLP as Auditor; the authorisation of the Directors to determine the remuneration of the Auditor; the authorisation of the Directors to allot Ordinary Shares and disapply statutory pre-emption rights for certain issues of Ordinary Shares; the authorisation of the Company to make market purchases of Ordinary Shares; the authorisation for the sale of Treasury Shares at a discount to NAV; and the holding of general meetings (other than AGMs) on not less than 14 clear days' notice.
Resolutions 1 to 9 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 10 to 13 will be proposed as special resolutions.
The Directors are required to present to the meeting the Company's Strategic Report, Directors' Report, Auditor's Report and the audited financial statements for the financial year ended 31 July 2019 (the "Annual Report and Financial Statements"). These are contained in the Annual Report of the Company for such period.
The Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 July 2019 is set out on pages 40 to 43 of the Annual Report and Financial Statements. In accordance with Companies Act 2006 (the "Act"), this vote to approve the Remuneration Report is advisory only and the Directors' entitlement to receive remuneration is not conditional on it. The resolution and vote are a means of providing Shareholder feedback to the Board. The Directors' Remuneration Policy was last put to Shareholders for approval at the 2017 AGM. As the Board does not propose to make any changes to the existing remuneration policy nor change the way it is implemented, the remuneration policy will not be put to Shareholder vote at the forthcoming AGM.
The final ordinary dividend for the year ended 31 July 2019, as recommended by the Directors, is 8.0 pence per Share. If approved by Shareholders at the forthcoming AGM, this final dividend will be paid on 14 February 2020 to Shareholders on the register at the close of business on 24 January 2020. The ex-dividend date will be 23 January 2020.
As detailed in the Corporate Governance Statement in the Annual Report, the Board has agreed a policy whereby all Directors will seek annual re-election at the Company's AGMs.
The re-election of David Harris is proposed in accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code (the "UK Code"), which requires the annual re-election of non-executive directors who have served on the board for nine years or more. Mr Harris has no previous relationship with the Company other than his position as an independent non-executive Director, nor with the controlling Shareholder of the Company or any associate of the controlling Shareholder of the Company within the meaning of Listing Rule 13.8.17 R. In addition to being satisfied that Mr Harris is independent of the controlling Shareholder, the other Directors have also determined that he satisfies all the other independence criteria in the UK Code, save that he has served on the Board for more than nine years. The other Directors consider that Mr Harris' long association with the Company over the years does not compromise his independence, and his judgement and experience continue to be of great benefit to the Board and the Company.
Brett Miller is a director of M&L Property and Assets plc and M&L Capital Management Global Fund ICAV; he was registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as an employee of M&L Capital Management Limited, the Company's Manager until July 2019. Mr Miller was head of governance and risk oversight and also sat on the risk management committee at M&L Capital Management Limited until July 2019. Approval remains pending with the FCA, however it is intended that Mr Miller will assume M&L Capital Management's SMF16 and SMF17 roles after the commencement of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime and AIFMD Risk and Valuation oversight; he is therefore not deemed to be independent of the Manager. Due to his non-independent status and in accordance with the Listing Rules, Mr Miller stands for re-election on an annual basis.
Daniel Wright was appointed as a Director of the Company on 29 October 2018 and was elected by Shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on 15 January 2019. In accordance with the above mentioned policy, Mr Wright will stand for re-election at the forthcoming AGM. Mr Wright has no previous relationship with the Company other than his position as an independent non-executive Director, nor with the controlling Shareholder of the Company or any associate of the controlling Shareholder of the Company within the meaning of Listing Rule 13.8.17 R.
M&M Investment Company plc, which is controlled by Mark Sheppard who forms part of the investment management team at M&L Capital Management Limited, is the controlling Shareholder of the Company (further details can be found on page 25 of the Annual Report). The Listing Rules require independent non-executive directors of premium listed companies that have a controlling shareholder to be re-elected by a majority of the votes cast by the independent Shareholders of the Company, as well as by a majority of the votes cast by all the Shareholders. In the case of the Company, 'independent Shareholders' mean all the Shareholders of the Company other than M&M Investment Company plc.
Accordingly, the resolutions for the re-election of Mr Harris and Mr Wright (Resolutions 4 and 6) will be taken on a poll and the votes cast by the independent Shareholders and by all the Shareholders will be calculated separately. Such a resolution will be passed only if a majority of the votes cast by the independent Shareholders are in favour, in addition to a majority of the votes cast by all the Shareholders being in favour. If the resolution to approve the re-election of Mr Harris or Mr Wright is passed, but separate approval by the independent Shareholders is not given, the Listing Rules permit the Director to remain in office pending a further resolution to be approved by all Shareholders, at a meeting which must be held more than 90 days, but within 120 days, of the first votes.
The Chairman and the Board confirm that, following formal performance evaluations, the performance of each of the Directors continues to be effective and demonstrates commitment to the role and having considered the Directors' other time commitments and board positions, are satisfied that each Director has the capacity to be fully engaged with the Company's business. The Chairman and the Board therefore believe that it is in the interests of Shareholders that each of those Directors seeking re-election are re-elected. Directors' biographical details can be found in the Annual Report on page 22.
Auditors must be appointed at each general meeting at which the Annual Report and Financial Statements are presented to Shareholders. An assessment of the independence and objectivity of Deloitte LLP has been undertaken by the Audit Committee; it has recommended to the Board that a resolution for the re-appointment of Deloitte LLP as the Company's Auditor be put to Shareholders at the forthcoming AGM. Further details about the performance of the Auditor can be found on page 39 of the Annual Report. Resolution 8, if passed, would authorise the Directors to determine the level of Auditor's remuneration.
Resolution 9, an ordinary resolution, as set out in the notice of meeting, if passed, will renew the Directors' authority to issue up to an aggregate nominal value of £2,446,994, representing 9,787,976 Ordinary Shares (being approximately one-third of the issued share capital (excluding Treasury Shares) as at 24 September 2019), in accordance with statutory pre-emption rights. The authority, if given, will lapse at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company after the passing of this resolution (which must be held no later than 31 January 2021). The authority will be used where Directors consider it to be in the best interests of Shareholders. The Directors will only issue new Ordinary Shares at a price at or above the prevailing net asset value per Ordinary Share.
As at 24 September 2019, no Shares were held in Treasury.
Resolution 10, a special resolution, if passed, will renew the Directors' authority to disapply the statutory pre-emption rights of existing Shareholders in relation to the issue of Ordinary Shares for cash or the sale of Ordinary Shares out of Treasury up to an aggregate nominal amount of £734,098 (being approximately 10% of the issued share capital (excluding Treasury Shares) as at 24 September 2019). This authority, if given, will expire at the next AGM, when a resolution for its renewal will be proposed. The authority will be used where Directors consider it to be in the best interests of Shareholders. Any Ordinary Shares issued on a non-pre-emptive basis under this authority will be issued at a price at or above the prevailing NAV per Ordinary Share. The passing of Resolution 10 is subject to the passing of Resolution 9.
Subject to the passing of Resolution 10, Resolution 11 will renew the Company's authority to sell Shares from Treasury at a discount to NAV. Treasury Shares may only be sold at a discount to NAV per Share if that discount does not exceed the weighted average discount to NAV per Share at which the Shares were purchased and provided that any Shares sold from Treasury for cash are sold at higher prices (including expenses) than the weighted average price at which those Shares were bought into Treasury.
At the AGM held on 15 January 2019, the Company was granted authority to purchase up to 14.99% of the Company's Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding Treasury Shares) amounting to 3,769,238 Ordinary Shares. As at 24 September 2019, no Shares have been bought back under this authority.
Resolution 12, which will be proposed as a special resolution, seeks to renew the authority granted at last year's AGM and gives the Company authority to buy back its own Shares in the market. The authority limits the number of Ordinary Shares that could be purchased to a maximum of 4,401,653 (representing 14.99% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company as at the close of business on 24 September 2019). The authority sets out the minimum and maximum prices. This authority will expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company.
Whilst the Directors have no present intention of using this authority, the Directors would use this authority in order to address any imbalance between the supply and demand for the Ordinary Shares and to manage the discount to NAV at which the Ordinary Shares trade.
Any purchases of Shares would be by means of market purchases through the London Stock Exchange. Any Shares purchased pursuant to this authority may either be held as Treasury Shares or cancelled by the Company, as determined by the Directors at the time of purchase. The authority will only be used after careful consideration, taking into account market conditions prevailing at the time, other investment opportunities, appropriate gearing levels and the overall financial position of the Company.
Under the Act, the notice period required for all general meetings of a company is 21 days. AGMs will always be held on at least 21 clear days' notice but shareholders can approve a shorter notice period for other general meetings, provided this is not less than 14 clear days. Such a notice period provides flexibility and, if approved, will remain effective until the next AGM of the Company, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed. The Directors will only call general meetings on 14 clear days' notice where they consider it in the best interests of Shareholders to do so and the relevant matter requires to be dealt with expediently.
The Board considers all the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM to be in the best interests of Shareholders and the Company as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend that all Shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions, as they intend to do in respect of their own shareholdings.
If you would like to vote on the resolutions but are unable to attend the AGM, you may appoint a proxy by completing and returning a proxy form. Alternatively, if you hold your shares in CREST, you can appoint a proxy via the CREST system or, a proxy may also be submitted electronically via the Registrar's website. To be effective, your proxy form must be lodged with the Registrar at the address shown on the proxy form by 11.45 am on Sunday, 12 January 2020. If you hold your Shares through a nominee service, please contact the nominee service provider regarding the process for appointing a proxy.
Yours faithfully,
David Harris Chairman 24 September 2019
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Manchester and London Investment Trust plc (the "Company") will be held at the ICAEW, Members Room, Chartered Accountants' Hall, One Moorgate Place, London EC2R 6EA on Tuesday, 14 January 2020 at 11.45 am.
Resolutions 1 to 9 (inclusive) will be proposed as ordinary resolutions, which means that for each of these to be passed, more than 50% of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Resolutions 10 to 13 will be proposed as special resolutions, meaning that for each of these to be passed, at least 75% of the votes cast must be in favour.
empower the Directors in compliance with the Listing Rules to sell, transfer and allot Shares held by the Company in Treasury (whether or not those Shares are held in Treasury at the date this Resolution is passed or repurchased pursuant to the authority sought under Resolution 12 below) for cash and that such Shares may be allotted or sold or transferred for a price which represents a discount to the most recently published NAV per Share as at the date of such allotment or sale provided that such discount does not exceed the weighted average discount to NAV per Share at which the Shares were purchased and provided that any Shares sold from Treasury for cash are sold at higher prices (including expenses) than the weighted average price at which those Shares were bought into Treasury. The authority hereby granted shall require renewal from Shareholders and expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company after the passing of this Resolution, save that the Company may before such expiry enter into offers or agreements which would or might require Shares held in Treasury to be sold or allotted after such expiry and the Company may sell or allot Shares pursuant to any such offer or agreement as if the authority hereby granted had not expired.
By order of the Board
Link Company Matters Limited Company Secretary 24 September 2019
Registered Office: 12a Princes Gate Mews London SW7 2PS
In order for a proxy appointment to be valid a form of proxy must be completed. In each case the form of proxy must be received by Link Asset Services at PXS, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4TU by 11.45 am on Sunday 12 January 2020.
A copy of this Notice, and other information required by Section 311A of the Companies Act 2006, can be found on the Company's website at www.mlcapman.com/manchester-london-investment-trust-plc.
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