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FTSE 350 AGM developments from 27 April 2023 to 4 May 2023.*

The Market Tracker ‘AGM season 2023—Week in review’ series looks at key developments across the AGMs held each week. In this third update, the Market Tracker team reviews results from the 29 companies that held an AGM this week, in addition to Admiral Group plc, AstraZeneca plc, BP plc, CLS Holdings plc, CRH plc, Flutter plc, Taylor Wimpey plc and Weir Group plc, whose results missed the 4pm cut-off on 27 April 2023.

Meeting format tracker**

Key developments

AstraZeneca plc

• 19% of shareholders at pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca plc  the re-appointment of Non-Executive Director, Marcus Wallenberg. In its , the company noted that Wallenberg could not be considered ‘independent’ under the . AstraZeneca plc stated this was due to the ‘overall length of his tenure and relationship with a significant shareholder’

BP plc (BP)

• 83% of shareholders  resolution 25 at BP plc’s AGM. Shareholder resolution 25 was introduced by Dutch based activist shareholder group, Follow This. The resolution asked shareholders to â€˜support the company to align its existing 2030 reduction aims covering the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the use of its energy products () with the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature to increase to 1.5°C’

• BP narrowly avoided a significant no vote on the directors’ remuneration report, with 18% of shareholders voting against the resolution. The vote against directors’ remuneration reflects shareholder concerns over workplace health and safety, as well as BP’s environmental responsibilities

Diversified Energy Company plc

• directors were called to task over the remuneration report proposed at the gas and oil company’s AGM, with a  of 38% against it. The company provided a detailed explanation in the AGM results announcement and cited the shareholder-approved remuneration policy as the basis for executive remuneration in 2023. It also confirmed that it intends to engage with shareholders further on this topic

Hammerson plc

• disgruntled shareholders used the AGM as a platform to challenge the board,  the special resolutions to disapply pre-emption rights and registering strong votes against the remuneration report, the remuneration policy, approval of the authority for directors to allot shares, and the re-election of Habib Annous, Méka Brunel and Robert Noel. In its update, Hammerson noted that the dissenting votes were primarily due to a significant minority, comprised principally of the group of shareholders connected with Lighthouse – an investment vehicle largely owned by Desmond de Beer, a former Hammerson director. de Beer is said to have lost confidence in the Hammerson board, citing both high administration costs and a shift in focus from the company’s homeland as a retail REIT as key factors in the uprising

Morgan Sindall plc

• the remuneration policy was up for review at the construction group’s 2023 AGM, and shareholders took the opportunity to make their disapproval clear, with 22% of shareholders it despite a very positive trading update published in the morning before the meeting took place. In the results announcement, the company pledged to address shareholder concerns on this point and provide an update by 5 November 2023

Ocado plc

• over 30% of Ocado’s investorsthe directors’ remuneration report, with CEO Tim Steiner’s £1.2m bonus a particular bone of contention amid challenging market conditions. In its response, the company acknowledged that dissent was likely to be aimed at payments made under the annual incentive plan and other incentive-based rewards. While Ocado strongly defended its remuneration policy decisions, the company confirmed its plans to address the matter with shareholders and provide a summary in its 2023 annual report and accounts

Pearson plc

• media company, Pearson plc, suffered a  against the resolution to approve the directors’ remuneration policy. Key changes to the  include increasing maximum opportunities to the Annual Incentive Plan to 300% of the base salary and the Long-Term Incentive Plan to 450% of the base salary

Plus500 plc

• although Plus500 posted a positive trading update predicting a strong outlook for 2023, the company saw dramatic  at its AGM as shareholders expressed their discontent with the board and remuneration. The advisory resolution to approve the remuneration report failed to pass, with 75% of shareholders opposing it, and the remuneration policy, which was up for renewal this year, saw 23% of shareholders voting against. In addition, the re-election of director Steve Baldwin attracted strong opposition of almost 30%, as did a proposal to allot shares to chair Jacob Frenkel

Spirent Communications plc

• Spirent’s shareholders joined in what emerged as the theme of the week, with 30%  the remuneration report in response to a 15% pay increase for the CEO, despite consulting with the top 25 shareholders, which make up 70% of the company’s shareholder base

Unilever

• disproportionate executive rewards set the stage for a revolt at Unliver, which saw 58% of shareholders  the remuneration report and some opposition against directors Nils Andersen, Andrea Jung and Ruby Lu, with 17%, 15% and 13% of shareholder votes against their re-election respectively

Significant no votes

Significant no votes will be tracked in the table below as the season progresses.

Failed resolutions

Failed resolutions will be tracked in the table below as the season progresses.

Grafton plc missed the 4pm cut-off and will be added in next week’s review.

* statement of scope: AGM results must be released by 4pm on the day of publishing to be included. AGM results released after this time will be included in the following review

** the data tracked in this series will be updated weekly on an aggregate basis