The pandemic has meant that it has been difficult for companies to hold physical general meetings. So ICSA, the Chartered Governance Institute, has published new guidance about company AGMs and how they should be held this year.
The impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing restrictions that are going to be in place over the coming months means that we will still be in a period of flux and general meetings will need to be held on a closed basis probably until at least June.
The guidance from the Institute has been prepared after consultations with the City of London Law Society Company Law Committee and Martin Moore QC, with the support of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Financial Reporting Council. The guidance provides advice on how listed companies might hold meetings during 2021.
Peter Swabey, Policy and Research Director at the Institute says:
"These remain uncertain times for business and, based on the Prime Minister's statement on 22 February, it appears likely that general meetings will be required to be held on a closed basis until at least 17 May and possibly until at least 21 June. While the pandemic continues to have a destabilising impact on companies' ability to plan, companies require the flexibility to hold AGMs and other general meetings in a safe and proportionate way. Our long-term policy objective is to persuade the government to introduce legislation to enable companies to hold general meetings flexibly, but the government has been clear that the opportunity to extend the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) beyond March 2021, or introduce something more fundamental, is limited, particularly in the short term. Consequently, we have developed this guidance to help clarify expectations surrounding company meetings scheduled to be held after 30 March 2021."
"Companies will need to adopt a flexible approach to planning AGMs or other general meetings to be held after 30 March, as the options available will depend on the legislation and guidance in place at the time the meeting notice is despatched and at the time of the meeting itself. The central point to be borne in mind, whatever the conditions that might arise, is the need to ensure that shareholder engagement is as effective as it can be given the circumstances."
The guidance can be downloaded here
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