Notice of Annual General Meeting
THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
If you are in any doubt about the contents of this document or the action you should take, you should immediately consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent professional advisor authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial advisor. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all your shares in G4S plc, please send this notice and the accompanying documents to the person through whom the sale or transfer was effected so that it can be passed on to the purchaser or transferee.
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of G4S plc will be held at The Platinum Suite, ExCeL London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL on Thursday, 4 June 2015 at 11.00 am in order to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following Resolutions:
Resolutions 1 to 15 and Resolution 18 will be proposed as ordinary resolutions. Resolutions 16, 17 and 19 will be proposed as special resolutions.
Report and Accounts
- To receive the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 December 2014 and the reports of the directors and auditor thereon.
Remuneration
- To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report, other than the part containing the summary of the Directors' Remuneration Policy, as set out in the company's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Dividend
- To declare a final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2014 of 5.82p (DKK 0.6041) for each ordinary share in the capital of the company.
Directors
4. To re-elect Ashley Almanza as a director.
5. To re-elect John Connolly as a director.
6. To re-elect Adam Crozier as a director.
7. To re-elect Mark Elliott as a director.
8. To re-elect Winnie Kin Wah Fok as a director.
9. To re-elect Himanshu Raja as a director.
10. To re-elect Paul Spence as a director.
11. To re-elect Clare Spottiswoode as a director.
12. To re-elect Tim Weller as a director.
Auditor
13.1 To appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditor of the company to hold office until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the company.
14.1 To authorise the audit committee of the board to determine the remuneration of the auditor.
Directors' Authority to Allot
15. That the directors be and are hereby generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to and in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") to exercise all the powers of the company to allot shares in the company or grant rights to subscribe for, or convert any security into, shares in the company:
(i) up to an aggregate nominal amount of £129,299,000; and
(ii) comprising equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act) up to a further aggregate nominal amount of £129,299,000 provided that they are offered by way of a rights issue to holders of ordinary shares on the register of members at such record date(s) as the directors may determine where the equity securities respectively attributable to the interests of the ordinary shareholders are proportionate (as nearly as may be practicable) to the respective numbers of ordinary shares held or deemed to be held by them on any such record date(s), subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the directors may deem necessary or expedient to deal with treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, shares represented by depositary receipts, legal or practical problems arising under the laws of any territory or the requirements of any relevant regulatory body or stock exchange or any other matter;
provided that this authority shall expire on the date of the next Annual General Meeting of the company, save that the company shall be entitled to make offers or agreements before the expiry of such authority which would or might require relevant securities to be allotted after such expiry and the directors shall be entitled to allot relevant securities pursuant to any such offer or agreement as if this authority had not expired; and all unexpired authorities granted previously to the directors to allot relevant securities under section 551 of the Act shall cease to have effect at the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting (save to the extent that the same are exercisable pursuant to section 551(7) of the Act by reason of any offer or agreement made prior to the date of this Resolution which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to be granted on or after that date).
16. That the directors be and are hereby empowered, pursuant to section 570 of the Act, subject to the passing of Resolution 15 above, to allot equity securities (as defined in section 560 of the Act) for cash pursuant to the authority conferred by Resolution 15 above as if section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment, provided that this power shall be limited to:
(i) the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer or issue of equity securities (but in the case of the authority granted under paragraph (ii) of Resolution 15 above, by way of rights issue only) to or in favour of the holders of shares on the register of members at such record date(s) as the directors may determine where the equity securities respectively attributable to the interests of the shareholders are proportionate (as nearly as may be practicable) to the respective numbers of shares held by them on any such record date(s), but subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to fractional entitlements, treasury shares, record dates, shares represented by depositary receipts, legal or practical problems arising under the laws of any territory or the requirements of any relevant regulatory body or stock exchange or any other matter; and
(ii) the allotment (otherwise than pursuant to sub-paragraph (i) above) of equity securities pursuant to the authority granted under Resolution 15(i) above up to a maximum nominal amount of £38,788,000;
and shall expire on the expiry of the authority conferred by Resolution 15 above unless previously renewed, varied or revoked by the company in general meeting, save that the company shall be entitled to make offers or agreements before the expiry of such power which would or might require equity securities to be allotted, or treasury shares to be sold, after such expiry and the directors shall be entitled to allot equity securities or sell treasury shares pursuant to any such offer or agreement as if the power conferred hereby had not expired.
All previous unutilised authorities under section 570 of the Act shall cease to have effect at the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting.
Authority to Purchase Own Shares
17. That the company be and is hereby generally and unconditionally authorised for the purposes of section 701 of the Act, to make market purchases (within the meaning of section 693(4) of the Act) of ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the company on such terms and in such manner as the directors may from time to time determine, provided that:
(i) the maximum number of such shares which may be purchased is 155,159,000;
(ii) the minimum price which may be paid for each such share is 25p (exclusive of all expenses);
(iii) the maximum price which may be paid for each such share is an amount equal to 105% of the average of the middle market quotations for an ordinary share in the company as derived from The London Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which such share is contracted to be purchased (exclusive of expenses); and
(iv) this authority shall, unless previously revoked or varied, expire at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the company to be held in 2016 (except in relation to the purchase of such shares the contract for which was entered into before the expiry of this authority and which might be executed wholly or partly after such expiry).
Authority to Make Political Donations
18. That in accordance with sections 366 and 367 of the Act, the company and all companies which are subsidiaries of the company during the period when this Resolution 18 has effect be and are hereby unconditionally authorised to:
(i) make political donations to political parties or independent election candidates not exceeding £50,000 in total;
(ii) make political donations to political organisations other than political parties not exceeding £50,000 in total; and
(iii) incur political expenditure not exceeding £50,000 in total; (as such terms are defined in the Act) during the period beginning with the date of the passing of this Resolution and ending at the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting of the company provided that the authorised sum referred to in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) above may be comprised of one or more amounts in different currencies which, for the purposes of calculating the said sum, shall be converted into pounds sterling at the exchange rate published in the London edition of the Financial Times on the date on which the relevant donation is made or expenditure incurred (or the first business day thereafter) or, if earlier, on the day in which the company enters into any contract or undertaking in relation to the same.
Notice Period for General Meetings Other Than AGMs
19. That a general meeting of the company, other than an Annual General Meeting, may be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice.
By order of the board
Peter David
Company Secretary
26 March 2015
The Manor
Manor Royal
Crawley
West Sussex RH10 9UN
Company No. 4992207
Notes
1. Shareholders are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend and to speak and vote on their behalf at the meeting. A shareholder may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the Annual General Meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by that shareholder. A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company. A proxy form which may be used to make such appointment and give proxy instructions accompanies this notice or will have been sent to you separately by post unless you have elected to receive shareholder communications electronically. Proxy instructions may also be given by using the registrar's share portal at www.capitashareportal.com.
2. Details of how to appoint a proxy are set out in the notes to the proxy form. In order to be valid, an appointment of proxy must be returned with any power of attorney or any other authority under which it is executed, by one of the following methods: in hard copy form by post to Capita Asset Services, PXS 1, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4ZF; in hard copy form to that address by courier or by hand during usual business hours; or, in the case of CREST members, by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service as described in paragraphs 8 and 9 below. In each case the form of proxy must be received by the company no later than 11.00 am on 2 June 2015. To change your proxy instructions you may return a new proxy appointment using the method set out above.
The deadline for receipt of proxy appointments also applies in relation to amended instructions. Persons listed on the VP Securities register should follow the instructions on their Voting Request Form.
3. The return of a completed proxy form, other such instrument or any CREST Proxy Instruction will not prevent a shareholder attending the Annual General Meeting and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.
4. Any person to whom this notice is sent who is a person nominated under section 146 of the Act to enjoy information rights (a "Nominated Person") may, under an agreement between him/her and the shareholder by whom he/she was nominated, have a right to be appointed (or to have someone else appointed) as a proxy for the Annual General Meeting.
If a Nominated Person has no such proxy appointment right or does not wish to exercise it, he/she may, under any such agreement, have a right to give instructions to the shareholder as to the exercise of voting rights.
5. The statement of the rights of shareholders in relation to the appointment of proxies in paragraph 1 above does not apply to Nominated Persons. The rights described in that paragraph can only be exercised by shareholders of the company.
6. To be entitled to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting (and for the purpose of the determination by the company of the votes they may cast), shareholders must be registered in the Register of Members of the company at 5.30pm on 2 June 2015 (or, in the event of any adjournment, on the date which is two working days before the time of the adjourned meeting). Changes to the Register of Members after the relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.
7. As at 25 March 2015 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this Notice) the company's issued share capital consisted of 1,551,594,436 ordinary shares, carrying one vote each. Therefore, the total voting rights in the company as at 25 March 2015 was 1,551,594,436.
8. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so by using the procedures described in the CREST Manual (available via www.euroclear.com/CREST). CREST Personal Members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
9. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited's specifications, and must contain the information required for such instruction, as described in the CREST Manual. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a proxy or is an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA10) by 11.00am on 2 June 2015. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the time stamp applied to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the issuer's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time any change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
10. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular message. Normal system timings and limitations will, therefore, apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy 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, to procure that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
11. The company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001.
12. Voting on all Resolutions will be conducted by way of a poll rather than a show of hands. This is a more transparent method of voting as shareholders' votes are to be counted according to the number of shares held. As soon as practicable following the Annual General Meeting, the results of the voting at the meeting and the numbers of proxy votes cast for and against and the number of votes actively withheld in respect of each of the Resolutions will be announced via a Regulatory Information Service and also placed on the company's website: www.g4s.com.
13. Any corporation which is a shareholder can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on its behalf all of its powers as a shareholder provided that they do not do so in relation to the same shares.
14. Under section 527 of the Act, members meeting the threshold requirements set out in that section have the right to require the company to publish on a website a statement setting out any matter relating to: (i) the audit of the company's accounts (including the auditor's report and the conduct of the audit) that are to be laid before the Annual General Meeting; or (ii) any circumstance connected with an auditor of the company ceasing to hold office since the previous meeting at which annual accounts and reports were laid in accordance with section 437 of the Act. The company may not require the shareholders requesting any such website publication to pay its expenses in complying with sections 527 or 528 of the Act. Where the company is required to place a statement on a website under section 527 of the Act, it must forward the statement to the company's auditor not later than the time when it makes the statement available on the website. The business which may be dealt with at the Annual General Meeting includes any statement that the company has been required under section 527 of the Act to publish on a website.
15. Any shareholder attending the meeting has the right to ask questions. The company must cause to be answered any such question relating to the business being dealt with at the meeting but no such answer need be given if (a) to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the meeting or involve the disclosure of confidential information, (b) the answer has already been given on a website in the form of an answer to a question, or (c) it is undesirable in the interests of the company or the good order of the meeting that the question be answered.
16. Under sections 338 and 338A of the Act, members meeting the threshold requirements in those sections have the right to require the company (i) to give, to members of the company entitled to receive notice of the meeting, notice of a resolution which those members intend to move (and which may properly be moved) at the meeting; and/or (ii) to include in the business to be dealt with at the meeting any matter (other than a proposed resolution) which may properly be included in the business at the meeting. A resolution may properly be moved, or a matter properly included in the business, unless (a) (in the case of a resolution only) it would, if passed, be ineffective (whether by reason of any inconsistency with any enactment of the company's constitution or otherwise); (b) it is defamatory of any person; or (c) it is frivolous or vexatious. A request made pursuant to this right may be in hard copy or electronic form, must identify the resolution of which notice is to be given or the matter to be included in the business, must be authenticated by the person(s) making it and must be received by the company not later than 22 April 2015, being the date six clear weeks before the meeting, and (in the case of a matter to be included in the business only) must be accompanied by a statement setting out the grounds for the request.
17. A copy of this notice, and other information required by section 311A of the Act, can be found at www.g4s.com
18. Any electronic address or web site address is provided in this Notice of Meeting solely for the purpose stated expressly herein and may not be used to communicate with the company other than for such purpose. Notwithstanding any telephone number, fax number or email address that appears on this document or elsewhere, neither the company nor Capita Asset Services will accept voting instructions received via media other than by post, courier or hand, or by CREST Proxy Instruction in accordance with the notes above.
19. An explanation of the Resolutions is given in the Recommendation and Explanatory Notes to the Resolutions which are set out after the Important Information about Attending the Annual General Meeting.
Important Information about Attending the Annual General Meeting
If you are a shareholder and you have received an admission card, you should bring it with you if you wish to attend the Annual General Meeting. If you do not have an admission card you should bring photographic proof of identity.
If you are attending as a proxy of a shareholder, your appointment as a proxy must be with our registrar, Capita Asset Services, no later than 11.00 am on 2 June 2015. If you are attending as a representative of a corporate shareholder, you must bring a currently dated corporate letter of representation as evidence of your entitlement to attend on behalf of that corporate shareholder.
In either case you should bring photographic proof of identity and evidence of your appointment to represent that shareholder, including their admission card if possible. If you hold your shares through a nominee, you must bring photographic proof of identity and evidence of your share ownership in the form of a currently dated latter from your nominee.
The Annual General Meeting is a private meeting of the shareholders and their properly authorised representatives. Guests are not entitled to attend the meeting as of right but they may be permitted entry at the absolute discretion of the company. Shareholders wishing to bring a guest must notify the company in advance by contacting the registrar, Capita Asset Services, The Registry, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4TU (shareholdersenquiries@capita.co.uk) who will advise of the company's decision on the request. Any permitted guests will be required to bring photographic proof of identity and to enter the meeting venue at the same time as the shareholder. Behaviour that may interfere with anyone's security or safety or the good order of the meeting will not be permitted. Security checks will be carried out on those attending the meeting. Please arrive in good time before the meeting commences to allow sufficient time for checks to be carried out. Those wishing to attend should be prepared to have any bags or briefcases inspected. Please do not bring suitcases, large bags or rucksacks. If you do, you may be asked to leave them in the cloakroom. Cameras, recording equipment and electronic communication equipment (including mobile phones, tablets and laptops) will not be permitted in the meeting. There will be secure storage facilities available where mobile phones and other small items of personal equipment may be deposited.