JADE ROAD
INVESTMENTS LIMITED
("Jade
Road Investments", "JADE" or the "Company")
Posting
of Circular and Notice of AGM
Jade Road Investments Limited (AIM:
JADE), the London quoted company focused on seeking the best
risk-adjusted returns globally, is pleased to confirm that it has
today posted the below circular to shareholders incorporating
notice of its 2023 annual general meeting ("AGM" and
"Circular").
The Circular provides further
details on the proposals announced by the Company on 2 January 2024
for the disposal of Legacy Assets and Restructuring. One of
the resolutions to be voted on at the AGM will be to approve the
disposal of the Legacy Assets. The Circular also contains
details of the appointment of the Company's new investment manager,
Heirloom Investment Management LLC.
Accordingly, Shareholders will
shortly receive a hardcopy of the Circular, accompanying form of
proxy or form of instruction, incorporating a formal notice
convening the AGM to be held at 9.00 a.m (BST)/12.00 p.m. GST on 1
May 2024 at Office 606 Unit No. 4 Latifa Tower, World Trade Center,
Dubai, UAE.
A copy of the Circular will also be
made available on the Company's website at: www.jaderoadinvestments.com.
Unless otherwise defined herein, all
defined terms used in this announcement shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in the Company's announcement of 2 January
2024.
For further information, please
contact:
Jade Road Investments
Limited
+44 (0) 778 531 5588
John Croft
WH Ireland Limited - Nominated
Adviser
+44 (0) 20 7220 1666
James Joyce
Hybridan LLP - Nominated
Broker
+44 (0) 20 3764 2341
Claire Louise Noyce
EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL
EVENTS
This Circular sent to Shareholders
|
8 April
2024
|
Ex-Dividend Date
|
30 April
2024
|
Record Date
|
1 May 2024
|
Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of
Instruction
|
5:00 p.m. BST on 26
April 2024
|
Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of
Proxy
|
9:00 a.m. BST on 29
April 2024
|
Date of Annual General Meeting
|
1 May 2024
|
DIRECTORS AND ADVISERS
Directors:
|
John Croft (Executive Chairman)
Hugh Viscount Trenchard (Non-Executive Director)
Dr Lee George Lam (Non-Executive Director)
Stuart Crocker (Non-Executive Director)
|
Registered
Office:
|
Commerce House, Wickhams Cay 1
PO Box 3140
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands VG1110
|
Principal
Place of Business:
|
20/F Infinitus Plaza
199 Des Voeux Road Central
Hong Kong
|
Company
Secretary:
|
Conyers Corporate Services (BVI)
Limited
Commerce House, Wickhams Cay 1
PO Box 3140
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands VG1110
|
Investment
Manager:
|
Harmony Capital Investors Limited
Intertrust Corporate Services (Cayman)
Limited
190 Elgin Avenue, George Town
Grand Cayman, KY1-9007
Cayman Islands
|
English Lawyers to the
Company:
|
Locke Lord (UK) LLP
Second Floor
201 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 3AB
|
BVI Lawyers to
the Company:
|
Conyers Dill & Pearman
29th Floor, One Exchange Square
8 Connaught Place
Central Hong Kong
|
Auditors:
|
PKF Littlejohn LLP
15 Westferry Circus
London E14 4HD
|
Registrars:
|
Computershare Investor Services (BVI)
Limited
Woodbourne Hall
PO Box 3162
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands
|
Depositary:
|
Computershare Investor Services PLC
The Pavilions
Bridgwater Road
Bristol BS13 8AE
|
Company
Website:
|
www.jaderoadinvestments.com
|
DEFINITIONS
"Annual General Meeting" or "2023
AGM"
|
the 2023 annual general meeting of the Company
to be held at 9:00 a.m. BST/12:00 p.m. GST time on 1 May
2024
|
"Articles"
|
the articles of association of the
Company
|
"Beneficial
Holder"
|
the ultimate beneficial owner of Ordinary
Shares and/or Depositary Interests as at the Record Date, whose
names do not appear on the Company's register of members and/or
register of Depositary Interest Holders
|
"BST"
|
British Summer Time
|
"BVI"
|
British Virgin Islands
|
"Circular"
|
this document
|
"Company" or
"Jade"
|
Jade Road Investments Limited, a company
registered in the BVI with registered number 1459602
|
"CREST"
|
the electronic systems for the holding and
transfer of shares in dematerialised form operated by Euroclear UK
& International Limited
|
"Depositary"
|
Computershare Investor Services PLC
|
"Depositary Interest
Holder"
|
a holder of Depositary Interests
|
"Depositary
Interests"
|
the Depositary interests in respect of the
underlying Ordinary Shares
|
"Directors"
or "Board"
|
the existing board of directors of the
Company
|
"Eastern"
|
Eastern Champion Limited
|
"Form of
Instruction"
|
the form of instruction enclosed with this
document for use at the AGM
|
"Form of
Proxy"
|
the form of proxy enclosed with this document
for use at the AGM
|
"GST"
|
Gulf Standard Time
|
"Legacy Asset
Resolution"
|
has the meaning given in paragraph
6 of Part 1 of this Circular
|
"Legacy
Assets"
|
has the meaning given in paragraph
1 of Part 1 of this Circular
|
"London Stock
Exchange"
|
London Stock Exchange plc
|
"Notice of Annual General
Meeting"
|
the notice of the Company's 2023 annual general
meeting set out at the end of this document
|
"Ordinary
Shares"
|
ordinary shares of no par value each of the
Company
|
"Record
Date"
|
1 May 2024
|
"Resolutions"
|
the resolutions contained in the Notice of
Annual General Meeting
|
"Shareholder(s)"
|
holder(s) of Ordinary Shares
|
"United Kingdom" or
"UK"
|
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
|
"US$"
|
US dollars
|
All references to dates and times in this
document are to BST unless otherwise stated. References to the
singular shall include references to the plural, where applicable,
and vice versa.
PART 1
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
JADE ROAD INVESTMENTS
LIMITED
(Incorporated in the British Virgin
Islands with registration number 1459602)
Directors:
|
Registered Office:
|
John Croft (Executive Chairman)
Hugh Viscount Trenchard (Non-Executive Director)
Dr Lee George Lam (Non-Executive Director)
Stuart Crocker (Non-Executive Director)
|
Commerce House,
Wickhams Cay 1
PO Box
3140
Road Town,
Tortola
British Virgin
Islands, VG1110
|
8 April
2024
Dear Shareholder
Proposed Disposal of Legacy Assets and
Restructuring
Appointment of New Investment
Manager
Notice of 2023 Annual General
Meeting
1.
Introduction and background
Pursuant to the Company's RNS announcement on
2 January 2024, the Company has conditionally agreed to transfer
its legacy Asian assets (details of which are set out on
page 13) (the "Legacy Assets") to
one of the Company's subsidiary special purpose vehicles, Eastern
Champion Limited ("Eastern") pursuant
to a hive down agreement dated 29 December 2023 ("Hive Down Agreement") as amended on 1
January 2024 (the "Legacy
Asset Transfer").
Eastern will simultaneously declare an in
specie dividend of its shares (the "In Specie Dividend")
to Shareholders on the Record Date. The net result is that
Shareholders on the Record Date will continue to own their existing
Ordinary Shares and an equivalent economic interest in the Legacy
Assets through ownership of shares in Eastern. Further details of
the In Specie Dividend and Shareholders' resulting share ownership
in Eastern is set out below in paragraph
5.
At the same time as the Hive Down Agreement is
completed and the In Specie Dividend is declared, the Company's
US$10,000,000 12.5% fixed rate secured loan notes ("Jade Loan Notes") will be retired and
replaced by new replacement loan notes to be issued by Eastern
("New Loan
Notes") to the holders of the Jade Loan Notes
(the "Noteholders"),
together with (i) the grant of new security over the Legacy Assets
by Eastern and (ii) the retention of security by the Noteholders
with a value of US$500,000 over the remaining assets of the
Company.
The Noteholders will also be issued with 1.8m
warrants over Ordinary Shares, with an exercise price of 2.75p and
a 3-year exercise period.
2. Details
of the Legacy Asset Transfer
Under the terms of the Hive Down
Agreement:
· the Company will
transfer the special purpose vehicles which own the Legacy Assets
to Eastern (which already owns the Company's investment in DocDoc
Pte Ltd). The other Legacy Assets comprised in those special
purpose vehicles are the Company's investments in Hong Kong Mining
Holdings Limited, Meize Energy Industries Limited, Infinity Capital
Group, Infinity TNP and Project Nicklaus, as well as the
convertible loan notes issued to the Company by Fook Lam Moon
Holdings, and the benefit of a USD3,700,000 loan made by the
Company to Hong Kong Mining Holdings Limited;
· the consideration
payable for the Legacy Assets by Eastern will be satisfied by the
issue and allotment by it of the shares comprising the In Specie
Dividend;
· the Hive Down
Agreement is conditional on a number of matters, including the
issuance by Eastern of the New Loan Notes to the
Noteholders, shareholder approval and the grant and retention
of the security arrangements described above; and
· both of the
parties to the Hive Down Agreement, being the Company and Eastern,
will be granting limited warranties to each other.
Therefore, and upon completion of the Legacy
Asset Transfer:
· the Legacy
Assets will be owned by Eastern;
· whilst Eastern is
currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, upon completion
of the Legacy Asset Transfer and the In Specie Dividend a new board
of directors independent of the Company will be appointed and an
independent investment manager will be engaged to manage the Legacy
Assets, further details of which are set out in paragraph 3 below.
Therefore, upon completion of the Legacy Asset Transfer, Eastern
will be completely independent of the Company;
· the Jade Loan Notes,
which have US$3,620,000 of principal value outstanding, will be
retired;
· the New Loan Notes,
representing US$3,620,000 of principal value to replace the Jade
Loan Notes and with a revised maturity date of 30 June 2024, will
be issued by Eastern to the Noteholders who will be granted new
security over the Legacy Assets and benefit from an additional
charge over the Company's retained assets, capped at a value of
US$500,000; and
· Noteholders will
be granted 1,800,000 three-year warrants by the Company with a
strike price of 2.75p.
3.
Relationship between Eastern and the Company
Upon completion of the Hive Down
Agreement:
· the
Company will procure that Geoff Dover, Suresh Withana and Alan Lau
will be appointed to the board of directors of Eastern (the
"Eastern Board"):
o Geoff
Dover
Geoff Dover is the founder and
President of Heirloom Family Office, and the President and Chief
Investment Officer of Heirloom Investment Management LLC, a
regulated investment management firm that offers other family
offices the opportunity to co-invest in investments made by
Heirloom Family Office. He has over 25 years' experience of
fundamentals-based investment expertise across asset classes with a
particular expertise in originating, evaluating, structuring and
executing on unique alternative investments.
o Suresh
Withana
Mr Withana has 30 years of
experience with the last 20 years in investment management covering
Asia, Europe and the Americas focused on special situations and
private equity. He has held positions in London, Dubai,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.
o Alan
Lau
Mr Lau has over 25 years of
experience in the investment management industry, including senior
roles in private equity, hedge funds and family offices in London,
New York and Hong Kong. His areas of expertise include
financial & strategic planning, compliance & internal
control, and project planning.
· Eastern has conditionally appointed Harmony Global Partners
Limited ("HGP") to act as
investment manager in relation to the Legacy Assets, pursuant to a
new investment management agreement entered into between Eastern
and HGP dated 28 March 2024, the principal terms of which
comprise:
o a
six month minimum term ("Minimum
Term") which is automatically renewed
unless terminated by either party;
o a
service fee of US$7,500 per month; and
o an
initial incentive fee of 30% on net proceeds exceeding US$4,390,394
that are received by Eastern from the disposal of Legacy Assets,
which tapers down to 20% over a 13 month period following the
Minimum Term. No incentive fee shall be paid to HGP until the
interest and principal on the New Loan Notes has been
repaid.
(the "Legacy Asset
IMA");
· the
Company has also granted warrants to subscribe for up to 4,464,286
Ordinary Shares ("Warrants")
to Harmony Capital Investors Limited
("HCIL") at an exercise price
of US$0.0244 per share as part of the arrangements relating to the
settlement of outstanding fees incurred pursuant to the amended and
restated service agreement between the Company and HCIL dated 23
March 2023. The Warrants will be exercisable at any time during the
period of three years from the date of the Warrant
instrument.
· the
Company will enter into an unsecured non-interest bearing revolving
working capital loan facility with Eastern for an initial term of
one year in order that Eastern can meet its operating costs
("Working Capital Loan").
4.
Appointment of New Investment Manager
As part of the proposed
restructuring, the Company will terminate its existing investment
management agreement with HCIL contemporaneous with Eastern
entering into the Legacy Asset IMA as set out above.
At the same time, the Company is
pleased to announce that it will enter into a new investment
advisory services agreement with Heirloom Investment Management LLC
("Heirloom") (the
"Heirloom Services Agreement"). Heirloom is an investment firm that specialises in
differentiated alternative investment solutions for sophisticated
investors or their advisors by offering specific alternative funds
and co-investment opportunities. The principal terms of the
Heirloom Services Agreement will be:
· a
one-year fixed term ("Initial Term") which is subject to an automatic renewal of one year on a
rolling basis unless otherwise terminated by either party on not
less than three months' notice;
· a fee
payable to Heirloom of £15,000 per quarter in respect of the
provision of its services for that one year term; and
· automatic renewal upon expiry of the Initial Term, unless
otherwise terminated by either party on giving the other party not
less than three months' written notice.
Heirloom and its affiliated
entities together hold, in aggregate, 191,712,713 Ordinary Shares
representing the Company's largest shareholding with 53.92% of its
current issued shares, and the Company currently has an investment
in the Heirloom Investment Fund SPC - Heirloom Fixed Return Fund SP
which is managed by Heirloom.
The Directors consider, having
consulted with WH Ireland plc, the Company's nominated adviser,
that the terms of the Heirloom Services Agreement are fair and
reasonable insofar as Shareholders are concerned for the purposes
of AIM Rule 13 (Related Party Transactions).
5. In
Specie Dividend
Shareholders and Depositary
Interest Holders will receive unquoted, non-tradeable shares in the
capital of Eastern upon it declaring the In Specie Dividend
simultaneously with completion of the Legacy Asset Transfer. There
is no market for these shares and Shareholders will not be able to
transfer them other than with the prior consent of the Eastern
Board. The intention is that upon any realisation of value
associated with the Legacy Assets and once Eastern has satisfied
its obligations under the Working Capital Loan and repaid its
existing indebtedness (including the New Loan Notes) and its own
operating costs that the Eastern Board will consider and, if
thought appropriate based on the financial position of Eastern,
declare dividends to Shareholders of remaining net proceeds. There
is no certainty any such dividends will be declared and
Shareholders should note that the approval of any such dividends
will be entirely at the discretion of the Eastern
Board.
Eastern will not operate a
Depositary Interest register. Therefore Depositary Interest Holders
will receive certificated shares in Eastern as a result of the In
Specie Dividend, and not Depositary Interests. The Registrar will
expect to issue such shares by no later than 14 days after the
passing of the Legacy Asset Resolution.
The Company's Registrars have been
engaged to maintain the share register for Eastern. Shareholders
should contact Computershare Investor Services (BVI) Limited
at c/o 13 Castle Street St Helier Jersey JE1 1ES
or 44 (0)370 707 4040 if they have any queries relating to the
ownership of Eastern shares.
6.
Shareholder approval
Prior to effecting the Legacy Asset Transfer,
pursuant to the AIM Rules, the Company requires the approval of its
Shareholders as the Legacy Asset Transfer is
considered a fundamental disposal under the AIM Rules. Should the
Company receive approval it will need to significantly execute its
new investing policy within 12 months of the transfer. Separately,
the transfer also requires the written consent of the
Noteholders.
The Company is pleased to report that it has
received the unanimous support of the Noteholders to effect the
proposals, including the extension of the maturity date of the Jade
Loan Notes from 31 December 2023 to 30 June 2024 in order to allow
the Company the time to complete the proposed restructuring
referred to above.
Accordingly, the Company is now seeking
shareholder approval for the transfer of the Legacy Assets to
Eastern by way of an ordinary resolution, which is set out as
Resolution 5 on page
13 and forms part of the Notice of Annual
General Meeting ("Legacy Asset
Resolution").
7. Action
to be taken
You will find the Notice of Annual General
Meeting set out at the end of this document. The 2023 AGM (at which
the Legacy Asset Resolution will be proposed) will be held at 9:00
a.m. BST/12:00 p.m. GST on 1 May 2024. All the Shareholders are
entitled to vote for or against the Legacy Asset
Resolution.
Shareholders will find a Form of Proxy
enclosed for use at the Annual General Meeting. Whether or not you
intend to be present at the Annual General Meeting, you are
requested to complete and return the Form of Proxy in accordance
with the instructions printed thereon as soon as possible. To be
valid, completed Forms of Proxy must be received by the Company's
registrars, Computershare Investor Services (BVI) Limited, c/o at
The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99 6ZY no later than 9:00
a.m. BST on 29 April 2024, being 48 hours before the time appointed
for holding the Annual General Meeting (excluding non-business
days). Completion and return of a Form of Proxy will not preclude
you from attending in person and voting at the Annual General
Meeting.
Depositary Interest Holders will find a Form
of Instruction enclosed for use at the Annual General Meeting.
Whether or not you wish to be present at the Annual General
Meeting, you are requested to complete and return the Form of
Instruction or lodge a vote through the CREST system in accordance
with the instructions printed thereon as soon as possible. To be
valid, completed Forms of Instruction must be received by the
Depositary at The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99 6ZY no
later than 5:00 p.m. BST on 26 April 2024, being 72 hours before
the time appointed for holding the Annual General Meeting
(excluding non-business days). Completion of the Form of
Instruction will not preclude a beneficial shareholder from
attending and voting at the General Meeting in person if they so
wish.
8.
Recommendation and irrevocable undertaking
The Directors have approached Heirloom
Investment Management, LLC and its affiliated entities
("Heirloom Group"), which
together holds 191,712,713 Ordinary Shares representing the
Company's largest shareholding with 53.92% of the issued voting
shares, to seek their support for the proposals, in particular the
Legacy Asset Transfer. The
Directors are pleased to report that the Heirloom Group has entered
into an irrevocable undertaking (the "Undertaking") to vote in
favour of the Legacy Asset Resolution, which means that provided
the Heirloom Group comply with the provisions of their Undertaking,
the Legacy Asset Resolution will be passed.
Nevertheless, the Directors recommend
Shareholders vote in favour of the Resolutions to be proposed at
the General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of the 383,732
Ordinary Shares in aggregate held by them at the date of this
Circular.
Yours faithfully
John
Croft
Executive
Chairman
Jade Road
Investments Limited
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Important notice to
Shareholders and Depositary Interest Holders
SHAREHOLDERS AND
DEPOSITARY INTEREST HOLDERS SHOULD NOTE THAT IF ORDINARY
SHARES/DEPOSITARY INTERESTS THEY HOLD ON BEHALF OF SUCH UNDERLYING
BENEFICIAL SHAREHOLDERS ARE TRANSFERRED AFTER THE RECORD DATE, IT
IS UNLIKELY THAT THE COMPANY WILL BE ABLE TO REMIT CASH DIVIDENDS
THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE DISPOSAL OF THE LEGACY ASSETS TO THOSE
BENEFICIAL SHAREHOLDERS AS THE COMPANY NOR THE REGISTRAR WILL HAVE
ACCESS TO THOSE DETAILS.
The Company therefore strongly recommends that before
any Ordinary Shares or Depositary Interests are transferred after
the Record Date, Shareholders should contact the Company in order
to ensure that the underlying Beneficial Shareholder is able to
receive their pro rata distribution of any dividend which may be
paid by Eastern accordingly.
Dematerialisation of
Depositary Interests and Ordinary Shares
Depositary Interest Holders are able to withdraw
Depositary Interests from CREST at any time prior to the Record
Date, but it is recommended that Depositary Interests are withdrawn
up to one Business Day prior to the Record Date thereby allowing
their underlying Beneficial Holders to receive certificated shares
and accordingly have the Beneficial Holder's details included in
the register of members of Eastern upon completion of the In Specie
Dividend. If required, Shareholders will be able to
re-deposit their Ordinary Shares in CREST via the Depositary
Interest facility following this process.
Taxation on In Specie
Dividends
Shareholders and Depositary Interest Holders should
note that tax implications may arise in receiving dividends,
including the In Specie Dividend, and should contact their tax
advisors accordingly.
PART 2
NOTICE OF 2023 ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
_________________________________________________________________________________
JADE ROAD INVESTMENTS
LIMITED
(Incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands under the BVI Business Companies Act,
2004)
(the "Company")
_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTICE IS
HEREBY GIVEN that the 2023 annual general
meeting (the "Meeting") of
the members of the Company will be held at 9:00 a.m. BST/12.00 p.m.
GST on 1 May 2024 at Office 606 Unit No. 4 Latifa Tower, World
Trade Center, Dubai UAE, to consider and, if thought fit, pass the
following resolutions:
ORDINARY BUSINESS
1. AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ENDED 31 DECEMBER
2022
THAT the
audited financial statements of the Company and the reports of the
directors of the Company ("Directors") and the independent auditor
for the year ended 31 December 2022 be approved and adopted by the
Company.
2.
RE-APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS
THAT:
(a)
PKF Littlejohn LLP be re-appointed as the auditors of the
Company, such re-appointment to be in respect of the financial year
ended 31 December 2022; and
(b)
the board of Directors be authorised to fix the auditors'
remuneration.
3.
RE-ELECTION OF STUART CROCKER
THAT Stuart Crocker
be re-elected as a director of the Company.
4.
RE-ELECTION OF VISCOUNT HUGH TRENCHARD
THAT Viscount Hugh
Trenchard be re-elected as a director of the Company.
SPECIAL BUSINESS
5. AUTHORITY TO SELL LEGACY
ASSETS
THAT, the Company be
authorised to sell or otherwise dispose of all of the assets listed
below and registered in the name of the Company or otherwise
comprised as assets on its balance sheet to Eastern Champion
Limited ("Eastern"), the
consideration for which shall be satisfied by Eastern by the issue
by it of all of its issued and to be issued shares to the Company's
shareholders by way of an in specie dividend:
(a) the entire issued
share capital of Future Metal Holdings Limited;
(b) the entire issued
share capital of Dynamite Win Limited;
(c) the entire issued
share capital of HC Co-Investment Limited;
(d) the entire issued
share capital of TNP Asia Limited;
(e) the entire issued
share capital of Lead Winner Limited;
(f) the entire
issued share capital of Swift Wealth Investments
Limited;
(g) the entire issued
share capital of Jade Road Investments (HK) Limited;
(h) the convertible
loan notes issued to the Company by Fook Lam Moon Holdings;
and
(i) the benefit
of a $3,700,000 loan made by the Company to Hong Kong Mining
Holdings Limited.
6.
AUTHORITY TO ALLOT SHARES
THAT:
(a)
subject to paragraphs (b)
and (c) of this Resolution and in
accordance with the amended and restated articles of association of
the Company (the "Articles"), the exercise by the board
of Directors during the Relevant Period (as defined below) of all
the powers of the Company to allot, issue and otherwise deal with
the unissued shares of the Company (the "Shares") and to allot, issue or grant
securities convertible into Shares, or options, warrants or similar
rights to subscribe for any Shares or such convertible securities,
and to make or grant offers, agreements, options and warrants which
would or might require the exercise of such powers be generally and
unconditionally approved;
(b)
the approval in paragraph (a) of
this Resolution shall not extend beyond the Relevant Period but
shall authorise the Directors during the Relevant Period to make or
grant offers, agreements, options and warrants which would or might
require the exercise of such power after the end of the Relevant
Period; and
(c)
the number of Shares allotted or agreed conditionally or
unconditionally to be allotted (whether pursuant to an option or
otherwise) by the Directors for cash consideration pursuant to the
approval in paragraph (a) of this
Resolution, and otherwise than pursuant to the exercise of the
subscription or conversion rights attaching to any warrants or any
securities convertible into Shares or the exercise of the
subscription rights under any option scheme or similar arrangement
for the time being adopted for the grant or issue to persons such
as officers and/or employees of the Company and/or any of its
subsidiaries of Shares or rights to acquire Shares or any scrip
dividend providing for the allotment of Shares in lieu of the whole
or part of a dividend on Shares in accordance with the Articles,
shall not exceed 33.33% (one‐third) of the unissued Shares of the Company and
the said approval shall be limited accordingly.
7.
AUTHORITY TO BUY BACK SHARES
THAT:
(a)
subject to paragraph (b) of
Resolution 6, the exercise by the
Directors during the Relevant Period (as defined below) of all the
powers of the Company to purchase or repurchase on AIM, a market
operated by the London Stock Exchange plc on which the securities
of the Company are traded and recognised by AIM for this purpose,
Shares (including any form of depositary interests representing the
right to receive such Shares issued by the Company) and the
exercise by the Directors of all powers of the Company to
repurchase such securities, subject to and in accordance with all
applicable laws and the requirements of both the AIM Rules for
Companies and the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, be and are
hereby generally and unconditionally approved; and
(b)
the number of Shares which may be purchased or repurchased by
the Company pursuant to the approval in paragraph
(a) of this Resolution during the Relevant
Period shall not exceed 117,925,673 Shares of the Company, and the
said approval shall be limited accordingly.
For the purposes of Resolutions
6 and 7:
"Relevant
Period" means the period from the passing of the Resolution
until the conclusion of the first annual general meeting of the
Company following the passing of the Resolution, unless otherwise
renewed by ordinary resolution passed at that meeting.
8.
AUTHORITY OF DIRECTORS TO EXECUTE RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS
THAT any director or
officer of the Company be and is hereby authorised for and on
behalf of the Company to execute and deliver all such other
documents, instruments and agreements, whether under the seal of
the Company or otherwise, and to do all such acts or things as may
be necessary or desirable to give effect to the
foregoing.
Notes to the Notice of Annual General
Meeting
1.
In order to be entitled to attend and vote at the
Meeting, a registered member must be on the Company's share
register by close of business on 29 April 2024 or 48 hours for any
adjourned meeting.
2.
Subject to notes 3 and 5 below, only members are
entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting.
3.
A member entitled to attend and vote at the
Meeting is entitled to appoint one or more proxies (for holder of
two or more shares) to attend and vote instead of that member. A
proxy need not be a member of the Company. To be valid, the form of
proxy, together with the power of attorney or other authority (if
any) under which it is signed, or a certified copy of such power or
authority, must be lodged with the Company's share registrar,
Computershare Investor Services (BVI) Limited, c/o The Pavilions,
Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS99 6ZY no later than 9:00 a.m.
(BST)/12:00 p.m. (GST) on 29 April 2024 or 48 hours before any
adjourned meeting.
4.
At the Meeting, the chairman of the Meeting will
exercise his power under Article 15.1(a) of the Articles to put the
above resolutions to the vote by way of a poll.
5.
Depositary Interest Holders who are CREST members
and who wish to issue an instruction through the CREST electronic
voting appointment service may do so by using the procedures
described in the CREST manual (available from 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 services provider(s),
who will be able to take the appropriate action on their
behalf.
In order for instructions made using
the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a
CREST Voting Instruction) must be properly authenticated in
accordance with the specifications of Euroclear UK &
International Limited (EUI) and must contain the information
required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual
(available via www.euroclear.com).
The message, regardless of whether
it relates to the voting instruction or to an amendment to the
instruction given to the Depositary must, in order to be valid, be
transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID 3RA50)
no later than 5:00 p.m. (BST) on 26 April 2024. For this purpose,
the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by
the timestamp applied to the CREST Voting Instruction by the CREST
applications host) from which the issuer's agent is able to
retrieve the CREST Voting Instruction by enquiry to CREST in the
manner prescribed by CREST.
CREST members and, where applicable,
their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that
EUI does not make available special procedures in CREST for any
particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will
therefore apply in relation to the transmission of CREST Voting
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 the CREST sponsor or voting service
provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure
that a CREST Voting Instruction is transmitted by means of the
CREST service by any particular time. In this connection, CREST
members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting
service 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 Voting Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation
35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations
2001.
Alternatively, holders of Depositary
Interests can complete a Form of Instruction to appoint
Computershare Company Nominees Limited, the Depositary's custodian,
to vote on the holder's behalf at the General Meeting or, if the
General Meeting is adjourned, at the adjourned meeting. To be
effective, a completed and signed Form of Instruction (and any
power of attorney or other authority under which it is signed) must
be delivered to the offices of the custodian, Computershare
Investor Services PLC, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS99
6ZY, UK by no later than 9:00 a.m. (BST)/12:00 p.m. (GST) on 26
April 2024 or 72 hours before any adjourned meeting.
Entitlement to attend and vote at
the meeting and the number of votes which may be cast thereat will
be determined by reference to the Depositary Interest register at
close of business on 26 April 2024. Changes to entries on the
register after that time shall be disregarded in determining the
rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting. Should a
beneficial shareholder wish to attend the meeting in person, they
will need to contact their broker or custodian to request
attendance and the relevant broker or custodian would then need to
contact the Depositary Computershare Investor Services PLC they
must notify the Depositary in writing or email
!UKALLDITeam2@computershare.co.uk by 5:00 p.m. on 26 April 2024 so
the appropriate Letter of Representation can be issued by the
Depositary Interest custodian Computershare Company Nominees
Limited authorising attendance.