
Rights and restrictions attaching to ordinaryshares
Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to attend, speak and vote at
general meetings and to appoint proxies and, in the case of
corporations, corporate representatives are entitled to attend,
speak and vote at such meetings on their behalf. To attend and
vote at a general meeting a shareholder must be entered on the
register of members at such time (not being earlier than 48 hours
before the meeting) as stated in the notice of general meeting. All
resolutions at a general meeting are voted on by poll, with holders
of ordinary shares having one vote for each share held.
Where a shareholder has been duly served notice under section
793 of the Companies Act 2006 (which confers upon public
companies the right to require information with respect to interests
in their voting shares) and the shareholder is in default of the
notice for a period of 14 days, unless the Directors determine
otherwise, the shareholder (and any transferee) will not be entitled
to attend or vote at a general meeting. Where the relevant shares
represent 0.25% or more of the issued ordinary shares, the
Directors may direct that no transfer of shares that are the subject
of the default be registered until the default is remedied, provided
that where the shares are in uncertificated form, the Directors may
only exercise their discretion not to register a transfer if permitted
to do so by applicable legislation.
Ordinary shares have attached to them full dividend and capital
distribution (including on winding up) rights, but do not confer
any rights of redemption.
Holders of deferred shares shall not be entitled to vote or receive
any notice convening a general meeting of the Company, and shall
not be entitled to receive any dividends or other distributions or to
participate in any return of capital (other than to receive the
nominal value of such shares in a liquidation after all other shares
have received £1 million per share). They do not confer any rights
of redemption.
All issued share capital of the Company at the date of this Annual
Report is fully paid.
The Articles of the Company do not contain any restrictions on
the transfer of shares in the capital of the Company, other than an
ability of the Directors to refuse to register a transfer:
− of shares that are not fully paid;
− in respect of more than one class of shares;
− which is not accompanied by the relevant share certificate (or,
where requested, other evidence of right to transfer is not
provided);
− which is not duly stamped in circumstances where a duly
stamped instrument is required (or where requested, evidence
that the transfer is not subject to stamp duty is not provided);
− of shares over which the Company has a lien; or
− in favour of more than four persons jointly.
Certain restrictions may from time to time be imposed by laws and
regulations (for example, insider trading laws and the UK Takeover
Code) and requirements of the Company’s share dealing code
whereby the Directors and employees of the Group require prior
approval to deal in the Company’s securities.
In the event the Company is deemed to be an investment
company as defined in the Investment Company Act or the
Company’s assets may be considered “plan assets” within the
meaning of the US Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (as amended), the Directors may restrict ownership in the
Company by (i) “U.S. persons” (as defined in Regulation S under
the U.S. Securities Act) that are not a “qualified purchaser” (as
defined under the Investment Company Act); or (ii) a person that
is a benefit plan investor (including directly or through or as a
nominee). In such circumstances, the Articles give the Directors
the power to require a transfer of shares by ineligible persons.
Pursuant to a reorganisation agreement entered into by, among
others, Burgundy A1 Nominees Limited, Burgundy A2 Nominees
Limited, Burgundy A3 Nominees Limited, Burgundy A4
Nominees Limited, Burgundy A5 Nominees Limited, Burgundy
B1 Nominees Limited, Burgundy B2 Nominees Limited, Burgundy
C Nominees Limited (the foregoing being the “Nominee
Companies”), the Company and various pre-IPO shareholders
(being current or former employees of the Group or certain related
persons of such persons) (the “Management Shareholders”), the
Nominee Companies hold shares in the Company on behalf of the
Management Shareholders. Pursuant to the terms of the
agreement, the Management Shareholders are subject to
restrictions on their ability to dispose of their underlying shares for
a period of up to five years from the IPO. As at 31 December
2022, below is the schedule for the remaining releases of shares
from these lock-up restrictions:
Date Shares released from lock-up
July 2023 3,039,326
July 2024 81,734,187
July 2025 81,734,187
July 2026 192,459,135
Save as described above, the Company is not aware of any
agreements between holders of its securities that may restrict the
transfer of shares or exercise of voting rights.
Authority to purchase own shares
At the annual general meeting held on 12 May 2022, shareholders
passed a special resolution to authorise the Company, subject to
certain conditions, to purchase on the market a maximum of
82,326,877 ordinary shares, representing approximately 10%
ofthe Company’s issued ordinary share capital. As at 23 March
2023, 3,270,273 shares have been purchased under this authority,
and the authority will expire at the conclusion of the 2023
AGMor, if earlier, at the close of business on 31 July 2023.
TheDirectors are seeking the renewal of this authority at the
2023AGM.
Directors’ report and additional disclosures continued
124
Bridgepoint – 2022 Annual Report & Accounts Governance