IA writes to FTSE ‘repeat offenders’ warning of investor revolts

Thursday 5 December 2018

The Investment Association (IA) has today written to 32 companies in the FTSE All-Share who have appeared on the Public Register for the last 2 years. The letter expresses concern that these companies are on the Public Register for the exact same resolution in 2017 and 2018, suggesting that they did not respond sufficiently to investor views and in doing so are risking more shareholder dissent in the future.

The Public Register tracks significant shareholder dissent (of more than 20%) at AGMs or GMs and seeks for companies to respond to that dissent. The IA today also launched a new repeat offenders list as part of the Public Register, highlighting in one place those companies who experience year-on-year revolts for the exact same resolution.

The Public Register has revealed that an increasing number of companies are facing shareholder opposition, with rebellions up by just under a quarter in 2018. 287 individual resolutions have been added to the Public Register so far in 2018, a jump of 22% from 2017.

Andrew Ninian, Director of Stewardship and Corporate Governance at the Investment Association, said:

“Appearing on the Public Register should act as a warning to companies that their shareholders are concerned about an aspect of the company’s governance. While many companies are taking the necessary action and engaging with their shareholders, a frustrating number are failing to address investor concerns. We expect these companies to provide an update statement to their shareholders on the engagement they had since the AGM vote, the views heard from shareholders and the follow-on actions taken.

“We hope that the increased focus on these repeat offenders will encourage them to engage with their shareholders and ensure their concerns are being addressed. The risk if they do not is greater investor concern in the future.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

All data cited above is up to and including 30th November 2018. The full list of repeat offenders is below.

FTSE 100
ASTRAZENECA PLC
BERKELEY GROUP HOLDINGS PLC
WPP PLC

FTSE 250
ASHMORE GROUP
CAPITAL AND COUNTIES PROPERTIES PLC
CENTAMIN PLC
CLARKSON PLC
ENTERTAINMENT ONE LTD
GAMES WORKSHOP GROUP PLC
GVC HOLDINGS PLC
HAMMERSON PLC
INMARSAT PLC
INTU PROPERTIES PLC
INVESTEC PLC
MITCHELLS & BUTLERS PLC
PLAYTECH PLC
RENISHAW PLC
ROTORK PLC
SAFESTORE HOLDINGS PLC
SOPHOS GROUP PLC
SYNCONA LIMITED
TELECOM PLUS PLC

FTSE SmallCap
AA PLC
AO WORLD PLC
IMPAX ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS PLC
KEYSTONE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
LONMIN PLC
MEARS GROUP PLC
PREMIER OIL PLC
RAVEN PROPERTY GROUP LTD
STOCK SPIRITS GROUP PLC
TARSUS GROUP PLC

For more information contact:

Anisha Patel, Head of Communications: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4696

Ben Rathe, Senior Communications Manager: [email protected]
T +44 (0)20 7269 4696

About the Public Register:

• https://www.theinvestmentassociation.org/publicreg...
• In the Government’s response to the consultation on corporate governance reform, in August 2017, the IA was asked to establish and maintain a Public Register of FTSE All-Share companies which have received more than 20% votes against any resolution, at an AGM or GM. The Public Register also includes any resolutions which were withdrawn by a company prior to the meeting. The main aim of the Public Register is to focus attention on those companies which have received a significant vote against, and to track whether and how they are responding to shareholder concerns. A link to the companies’ response is included alongside their voting data as part of the Public Register.
• The Public Register is updated on an ongoing basis throughout the year. It includes a description of the resolution, the result of the shareholder vote, a link to the AGM results announcement (including any statement the company has made under E.2.2 of the UK Corporate Governance Code) and a link to any update statement the company has made on the actions they have taken since the vote.

The methodology is here:

• https://www.theinvestmentassociation.org/publicreg...

About the Investment Association (IA):

• The IA champions UK asset management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £7.7 trillion of assets and the asset management industry supports 100,000 jobs across the UK.
• Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
• Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to: o Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
• o Help people achieve their financial aspirations
• o Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
• o Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.
• The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.
• The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 35% of all assets managed in Europe.