Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Sep 25, 2025
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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Notice of the 2025 Annual General Meeting (the 'AGM') of PZ Cussons plc (the 'Company'), to be held at Manchester Business Park, 3500 Aviator Way, Manchester, M22 5TG at 10:30am on Thursday 20 November 2025 is set out on pages 3 to 4 of this document.
Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chair which is set out on page 2 of this document.
If you are unable to attend the AGM, you may appoint a proxy to attend the AGM and vote on your behalf. To be valid, you should complete and submit your proxy appointment in accordance with the Notes to the Notice of AGM set out on page 5. The proxy appointment must be received at the address for delivery specified in the Notes by no later than 10:30am on Tuesday 18 November 2025.
to the Company's shareholders (the 'shareholders') and, for information only, to participants in the PZ Cussons Share Schemes
Manchester Business Park 3500 Aviator Way Manchester M22 5TG
25 September 2025
I am pleased to be writing to you with details of our 2025 Annual General Meeting (the 'AGM') which we will be holding at Manchester Business Park, 3500 Aviator Way, Manchester, M22 5TG at 10:30am on Thursday 20 November 2025.
The formal Notice of the AGM is set out on pages 3 to 4 of this document and contains the proposed resolutions.
Explanatory notes to the business to be considered are set out on pages 8 to 11.
We recognise that the AGM is an important opportunity for our Board to interact with our shareholders and to hear your views on the direction of the Company.
If you are unable to attend and have any questions on the business of the meeting that you wish to ask, you may submit them by email to [email protected] and we will endeavour to respond as soon as practicable. Shareholders may submit a question at any time before 5:00pm on Thursday 13 November 2025 and the Company will seek to respond in advance of the proxy voting deadline at 10:30am on Tuesday 18 November 2025. Questions received after this time will receive a response after the meeting.
If you have any questions regarding the AGM itself, your shareholding or how to vote by proxy, please contact our Registrar, Computershare Investor Services PLC. Their contact details are set out on page 5 of this document in Note 3 and on the Form of Proxy which is enclosed with this document.
I would encourage you to vote on each of the resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM either by attending and voting in person or by appointing a proxy. You can appoint a proxy by:
Further information on how to appoint a proxy is set out in the Notes to the Notice of AGM on page 5. In each case, your proxy appointment must be received by the Company's Registrar by no later than 10:30am on Tuesday 18 November 2025 to be valid. Completion and return of the Form of Proxy or submission of a proxy appointment online or electronically will not prevent you from attending and speaking and voting in person at the AGM, should you wish to do so.
The Board of Directors considers that the resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM are in the best interests of the Company and the shareholders as a whole and are therefore likely to promote the success of the Company. The Board unanimously recommends shareholders to vote in favour of the resolutions as each of the Directors intends to do in respect of their own shareholdings which amount in aggregate to 497,681 shares representing approximately 0.12% of the existing issued share capital of the Company (save in respect of those matters in which they are interested).
Yours faithfully,
David Tyler Chair
Notice is hereby given that the 2025 Annual General Meeting of the members of PZ Cussons plc will be held at Manchester Business Park, 3500 Aviator Way, Manchester, M22 5TG on Thursday 20 November 2025 at 10:30am for the purposes set out below.
Resolutions 1 to 13 and Resolution 18 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions. Resolutions 14 to 17 will be proposed as special resolutions. Resolutions 7 to 10 relating to the re-election of the Independent Non-Executive Directors will be passed only if both a majority of votes cast by the Independent Shareholders (as those terms are defined in the explanatory notes on pages 8 to 11 of this document) and a majority of the votes cast by all shareholders are in favour.
All authorities vested in the Directors on the date of the notice of this meeting to allot shares or to grant Allotment Rights which remain unexercised at the commencement of this meeting are revoked.
and shall expire on the revocation or expiry (unless renewed) of the general authority conferred on the Directors by Resolution 13 in the notice of this meeting, save that, before the expiry of this power, the Company may make any offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors may allot equity securities under any such offer or agreement as if the power had not expired.
and shall expire on the revocation or expiry (unless renewed) of the general authority conferred on the Directors by Resolution 13 in the notice of this meeting, save that, before the expiry of this power, the Company may make any offer or agreement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors may allot equity securities under any such offer or agreement as if the power had not expired.
up to an aggregate total amount of £50,000, with the amount authorised for each of the heads a) to c) above being limited to the same total. Any such amounts may comprise sums paid or incurred in one or more currencies. Any sum paid or incurred in a currency other than sterling shall be converted into sterling at such rate as the Board of Directors may decide is appropriate. Terms used in this Resolution have, where applicable, the meanings that they have in Part 14 of the Companies Act 2006 on 'Control of political donations and expenditure'.
Date: 25 September 2025
By Order of the Board
PZ Cussons plc, Manchester Business Park, 3500 Aviator Way, Manchester, M22 5TG
at the Annual General Meeting
at the Annual General Meeting
The Company will process personal data that shareholders provide to the Company, including the personal data on a shareholder's proxy if a proxy is provided. Personal data includes all data provided by shareholders, or on behalf of shareholders, which relates to: (1) the shareholder, including name and contact details, the votes that the shareholder casts and any other personal data collected by the controller regarding the shareholder; and (2) any person who is identified as proxy by a shareholder via Form of Proxy, including their name and contact details. The Company will also process personal data of shareholders and/or their proxy to the extent that shareholders or their proxy attend meetings held by the Company and the Company documents or makes a recording of these meetings, in which case personal data processed may include images and audio of the shareholder or their proxy which may be captured in the form of photographs and/or video and audio recordings. Please note that if shareholders either provide the personal data of a proxy, or send a proxy to a meeting in their place, the Company requires the shareholder to communicate this privacy information to such proxy. The Company and any third party to which it discloses the data (including the Company's registrar) may process such data for the purposes of maintaining the Company's records, meeting management, managing corporate actions, fulfilling the Company's obligations to shareholders, fulfilling the Company's legal obligations and communicating with shareholders. The Company's lawful bases for the processing described above, for the purposes described above, is that the processing is necessary in order for the Company to (1) fulfil its legitimate interests; and (2) comply with its legal obligations. All of this data will be processed in accordance with the Company's privacy notice which can be accessed at www.pzcussons.com/ privacy-cookies/.
to the Business of the Annual General Meeting
The Companies Act 2006 requires the Directors of a public company to lay before the Company in general meeting copies of the Directors' reports, the independent auditor's report and the audited financial statements of the Company in respect of each financial year. In accordance with best practice, the Company proposes an ordinary resolution on its annual accounts and reports for the financial year ended 31 May 2025 (the '2025 Annual Report and Accounts').
In accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Company proposes an ordinary resolution to seek shareholder approval of the Report on Directors' Remuneration for the financial year ended 31 May 2025. The Report on Directors' Remuneration is set out on pages 74 to 94 of the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. For the purposes of Resolution 2, the Report on Directors' Remuneration does not include the part containing the Directors' Remuneration Policy ('the Policy'), which is set out on pages 78 to 83 of the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. The Policy was approved by shareholders at the AGM of the Company held in 2023. As no changes are proposed to the Policy and the approval obtained in 2023 is effective for three years, shareholder approval is not being sought in respect of the Policy this year. The vote on Resolution 2 is advisory only and the Directors' entitlement to remuneration is not conditional on its being passed.
The Directors recommend a final dividend of 2.10p per Ordinary Share for the financial year ended 31 May 2025.
If approved by ordinary resolution of the shareholders, the dividend will be paid on 27 November 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 31 October 2025.
All Directors at the date of the notice of meeting shall retire from office at the AGM in accordance with the Company's articles of association and the UK Corporate Governance Code, and each of them shall stand for re-election by shareholders.
Each of Resolutions 4 to 10 shall be proposed as an ordinary resolution. Biographical details of all of the Directors seeking re-election can be found on pages 50 and 51 in the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. These details include membership of the principal committees. The Board has also considered whether each of the independent Non-Executive Directors is free from any relationship that could materially interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgement and has determined that each continues to be considered independent.
The Chair confirms that, following a formal performance review, each Director continues to be effective, to make a positive contribution and to demonstrate commitment to his or her role.
The Board believes that the considerable and wide-ranging experience of these Directors will continue to be invaluable to the Company and recommends their re-election.
Resolutions 7 to 10 (inclusive) relate specifically to the re-election of those Directors whom the Board has determined to be independent for the purposes of the UK Corporate Governance Code (the 'Independent Non-Executive Directors'). The Company is required to comply with provisions of the Financial Conduct Authority's UK Listing Rules (the 'UK Listing Rules') relating to the election or re-election of Independent Non-Executive Directors of listed companies with a controlling shareholder, being a shareholder that exercises or controls, on their own or together with any person with whom they are acting in concert, 30% or more of the votes able to be cast on all or substantially all matters at a general meeting. For the purposes of the UK Listing Rules, certain shareholders in the Company (principally comprising the founding Zochonis family and certain wider family groups) are deemed to be controlling shareholders of the Company (the 'Controlling Shareholders'). As at the close of business on 23 September 2025 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document), the Controlling Shareholders held 183,758,500 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 42.86% of the Company's issued share capital.
In accordance with the UK Listing Rules, and to ensure continuing good governance, at the AGM the election and re-election of all Independent Non-Executive Directors must be approved by a majority vote of all shareholders and, separately, by a majority vote of the shareholders entitled to vote on the election or re-election of Directors other than the Controlling Shareholders (the 'Independent Shareholders').
Resolutions 7 to 10 (inclusive) are therefore proposed as ordinary resolutions on which all shareholders may vote, but in addition the Company will separately count the number of votes cast by the Independent Shareholders in favour of each resolution (as a proportion of the total votes of Independent Shareholders cast on the resolution) to determine whether the majority approval of Independent Shareholders as referred to above has been achieved. The Company will announce the results of Resolutions 7 to 10 (inclusive) on this basis as well as announcing the results of the ordinary resolutions of all shareholders.
Under the UK Listing Rules, if a resolution to elect or re-elect an Independent Non-Executive Director is not approved by majority vote of both the shareholders as a whole and the Independent Shareholders, a further ordinary resolution may be put forward to be approved by the shareholders as a whole at a general meeting which must be held more than 90 days after the date of the first vote but within 120 days of that first vote. Accordingly, if any of Resolutions 7 to 10 (inclusive) are not approved by both a majority vote of all shareholders and a majority vote of the Independent Shareholders at the AGM, the relevant Independent Non-Executive Director will be treated as having been elected or re-elected only for the period from the date of the AGM until the earlier of: (i) the close of any meeting of the Company, convened for a date more than 90 days after the AGM but within 120 days of the AGM, to propose a further ordinary resolution to elect or re-elect him or her, (ii) the date which is 120 days after the AGM, and (iii) the date of any announcement by the Board that it does not intend to hold a second vote.
In the event that the Independent Non-Executive Director's election or re-election is approved by majority vote of all shareholders at a second meeting, the Independent Non-Executive Director in question will be elected or re-elected until the Company's next annual general meeting.
As required by the UK Listing Rules, the Company confirms the following:
At each meeting at which the annual reports and accounts are laid, the Company is required to appoint an auditor to serve until the next such meeting. The Audit and Risk Committee has recommended to the Board, and the Board now proposes to shareholders at Resolution 11, the re-appointment of PwC as auditors. The Audit and Risk Committee has confirmed to the Board that its recommendation is free from third party influence and that no restrictive contractual provisions have been imposed on the Company limiting the choice of auditors.
Resolution 12 is an ordinary resolution giving the Audit and Risk Committee the discretion to determine the auditor's remuneration.
The Directors currently have an authority to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for, or convert any securities into, shares in the Company. This authority is due to expire at the AGM. The Board is seeking, by ordinary resolution, to renew that authority to provide the Directors with flexibility to allot new shares and grant rights up until the Company's annual general meeting in 2026.
If passed, this resolution will authorise the Directors to allot (or grant rights over) new shares in the Company in any circumstances up to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of £1,414,792, representing approximately 33% of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital as at the close of business on 23 September 2025 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document). This level of authority is within the limits prescribed by The Investment Association and is regarded as a routine authority.
The Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority; however, the Board considers it prudent to maintain the flexibility that it provides to enable the Directors to respond to any appropriate opportunities which may arise. If passed by shareholders, this authority will expire at the close of business on 20 February 2027 or, if earlier, at the conclusion of the Company's annual general meeting held in 2026.
The Company held no treasury shares as at the close of business on 23 September 2025.
Resolutions 14 and 15 will give the Directors authority to allot Ordinary Shares pursuant to the authority granted under Resolution 13 above for cash without complying with the pre-emption rights in the Companies Act 2006 in certain circumstances.
This disapplication authority is in line with institutional shareholder guidance, and in particular with the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles (the 'Pre-Emption Principles'), which allow the authority for an issue of shares for cash otherwise than in connection with a pre-emptive offer to include: (i) an authority up to 10% of a company's issued share capital for use on an unrestricted basis; and (ii) an additional authority up to a further 10% of a company's issued share capital for use in connection with an acquisition or specified capital investment announced contemporaneously with the issue, or has taken place in the twelve month period preceding the announcement of the issue. In both cases, an additional authority of up to 2% may be sought for the purposes of making a follow-on offer, as further explained below.
Resolution 14 will permit the Directors to allot, pursuant to the authority to allot sought in Resolution 13:
(a) equity securities for cash and sell treasury shares to existing shareholders on a fully pre-emptive basis (subject to any adjustments, such as for fractional entitlements and overseas shareholders, as the Directors see fit); or
to the Business of the Annual General Meeting
(b) equity securities for cash and sell treasury shares up to a maximum nominal value of £428,724, representing approximately 10% of the issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company as at 23 September 2025 (the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document) otherwise than in connection with a pre-emptive offer to existing shareholders; and as a follow-on offer, equity securities for cash and sell treasury shares up to an aggregate maximum nominal amount of 20% of any allotment of equity securities or sale of treasury shares allotted pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) of Resolution 14.
Resolution 15 will permit the Directors to allot additional equity securities for cash and sell treasury shares up to a maximum nominal value of £428,724, representing approximately a further 10% of the issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company as at 23 September 2025 (the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document), otherwise than in connection with a pre-emptive offer to existing shareholders for the purposes of financing or refinancing a transaction as contemplated by the Pre-Emption Principles described above.
In addition, sub-paragraph (b) of Resolution 15 will permit the Directors to allot, by way of a follow-on offer, equity securities for cash and sell treasury shares up to an aggregate maximum nominal amount of 20% of any allotment of equity securities or sale of treasury shares allotted pursuant to sub-paragraph (a) of Resolution 15. The proceeds of any follow-on offer under this authority can only however be used for the purposes of financing or refinancing a transaction, as is the case of the authority under sub-paragraph (a) of Resolution 15.
The Board considers that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders generally that the Company should seek the maximum authority permitted by the Pre-Emption Principles and have the flexibility conferred by Resolutions 14 and 15 to conduct a pre-emptive offering without complying with the strict requirements of the statutory pre-emption provisions and to finance business opportunities quickly and efficiently when they arise.
Whilst embracing the flexibility conferred by the authorities sought in Resolutions 14 and 15, the Board recognises that any existing shareholder may be keen to participate in a non pre- emptive offer carried out under these authorities. The Board is therefore supportive of the follow-on offer approach set out in the Pre-Emption Principles, which may be used to facilitate the participation of existing retail investors, who were not allocated shares in the non pre-emptive offer. The features of follow-on offers are set out in the Pre-Emption Principles but broadly a follow-on offer should: (i) be made to all existing shareholders (other than those who participated in the non preemptive offer); (ii) entitle shareholders to subscribe for shares up to a maximum of £30,000 each, at the same price (or lower than) the non pre-emptive offer and (iii) be open for a period which allows shareholders to become aware of and make an investment decision in relation to the offer.
The Board confirms that it intends to follow the shareholder protections contained in Part 2B of the Pre-Emption Principles and that it intends to follow the expected features of a follow-on offer as set out in paragraph 3 of Part 2B of the Pre-Emption Principles.
As noted in relation to Resolution 13 above, the Directors have no current intention of issuing Ordinary Shares.
The authority conferred by Resolutions 14 and 15 will expire upon the expiry of the authority to allot shares conferred in Resolution 13 (being at the close of business on 20 February 2027 or, if earlier, at the conclusion of the Company's annual general meeting held in 2026). The Directors intend to seek renewal of this authority at future annual general meetings of the Company.
This special resolution, if passed, will authorise the Company to make market purchases of its own Ordinary Shares as permitted by the Companies Act 2006. The Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority but wish to have the flexibility to do so in the future if it were appropriate. Purchases of own shares would only be made through the London Stock Exchange. This should not be taken to imply that Ordinary Shares will be purchased at any particular price or indeed at all. The Directors will only exercise the authority to make purchases of Ordinary Shares granted by this resolution if they believe that to do so would result in an improvement in earnings per share and is in the best interests of shareholders generally.
It is the Company's current intention that of any Ordinary Shares purchased under this authority, sufficient shares would be held in treasury to meet the Company's requirements (including in relation to its share incentive arrangements), with the remainder being cancelled (in which case the number of shares in issue would thereby be reduced). However, the Directors will reassess at the time of any such purchase whether to hold such Ordinary Shares in treasury or to cancel them, depending on which course of action is considered by the Directors to be in the best interests of the shareholders at that time.
The maximum number of Ordinary Shares which may be purchased is 42,872,496, representing approximately 10% of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital as at the close of business on 23 September 2025 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document). The authority will expire at the close of business on 20 February 2027 or, if earlier, at the conclusion of the Company's annual general meeting held in 2026. The minimum price which could be paid for an Ordinary Share would be its nominal value and the maximum price would be the higher of (i) the maximum price permitted by the UK Listing Rules being 5% above the average of the middle market quotations for an Ordinary Share, as derived from the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which the terms of the tender offer are announced and (ii) the higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid for an Ordinary Share in the Company on the trading venues where the market purchases by the Company pursuant to the authority conferred by this Resolution 16 will be carried out. These minimum and maximum prices are in each case excluding expenses. The Directors intend to seek renewal of this authority at future annual general meetings of the Company.
As at the close of business on 23 September 2025 (being the latest practicable date prior to publication of this document), there were no options or rights outstanding to subscribe for new Ordinary Shares.
The Company currently has the power under its articles of association to call general meetings (other than annual general meetings) on a minimum of 14 clear days' notice and would like to preserve this ability. In order to do so, shareholders must first approve the calling of meetings on a minimum of 14 clear days' notice.
The minimum notice period for general meetings of listed companies is 21 days, but companies may reduce this period to 14 days (other than for AGMs) provided that two conditions are met. The first condition is that the company offers a facility for shareholders to vote by electronic means. This condition is met if the company offers a facility, accessible to all shareholders, to appoint a proxy by means of a website. The second condition is that there is an annual resolution of shareholders approving the reduction of the minimum notice period from 21 days to 14 days. This special resolution seeks such an approval.
If granted, the approval will be effective until the conclusion of the Company's annual general meeting held in 2026. The shorter notice period would not be used as a matter of routine for general meetings, but only where the flexibility is merited by the business of the meeting and where it is considered by the Directors to be in the best interests of shareholders as a whole.
Subject to limited exceptions, Part 14 of the Companies Act 2006 imposes restrictions on companies making political donations to any political party or other political organisation or to any independent election candidate or incurring political expenditure unless they have been authorised to do so at a general meeting. It has always been the Company's policy that it does not make political donations nor incur political expenditure. This remains the case. However, the statutory definitions of the terms 'political donation' and 'political expenditure' are very wide and may apply to some normal business activities which would not generally be considered to be political in nature. For example, bodies such as those concerned with policy review and law reform or with the representation of the business community or sections of it, which the Company and/or its subsidiaries may see benefit in supporting, may be included in these definitions. The Company therefore wishes to ensure that neither it nor its subsidiaries inadvertently contravene the Companies Act 2006 through the undertaking of routine activities, which would not normally be considered to result in the making of political donations or political expenditure being incurred. The Board is therefore seeking authority, under sections 366 and 367 of the Companies Act 2006, to fund donations or incur expenditure up to an aggregate limit of £50,000 per annum as set out in the resolution. As is common practice among many UK public companies, this authority is sought as a precautionary measure only to guard against any inadvertent breach of the statutory restrictions. The Board confirms that it has no intention of making any political donations, incurring political expenditure nor entering into party political activities. Any political donation made or political expenditure incurred which is in excess of £2,000 will be disclosed in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts, as required by the Companies Act 2006.

Manchester Business Park 3500 Aviator Way Manchester M22 5TG
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