UK IPO Trendwatch – the Outlook for Autumn 2020

Deal volumes over the past 18 months

Looking back at IPO volumes in 2019 compared to 2018, we saw a 51% decrease in the aggregate number of IPOs across both the Main Market and AIM which is perhaps unsurprising given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and concern stemming from global trade tensions.

IPO activity levels since 2015

During the first quarter of 2020, as COVID-19 began to impact, we saw a handful of publicly announced postponements in relation to IPO transactions. No doubt behind closed doors a multitude of similar decisions have been made.

Whilst the financial markets grappled with economic lockdown, the second quarter of 2020 has seen IPO activity nearly reach freezing point with IPO volumes down 81% compared to the second quarter of 2019. During this time, AIM did not see any new issuers on-board. The Main Market saw the listing of two VCTs (Blackfinch Spring VCT plc and Puma Alpha VCT plc) together with China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd., operating in the Chinese insurance sector with its shares already listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges. Now we are at the mid-way point of the third quarter of 2020 and we have gradually seen the easing of global lockdown restrictions, AIM has welcomed Elixirr International plc (a management consultancy) and AEX Gold Inc (a special purpose vehicle focusing on the exploration and development of gold in Greenland) to its market.

Shareholder Rights Directive: New Regulations to Provide Confirmation of Shareholders’ Votes

By Squire Patton Boggs on July 27, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance, Listed companies

Ballot Box

The Companies (Shareholders’ Rights to Voting Confirmations) Regulations 2020 (“Regulations”) have been published and are due to come into force on 3 September 2020. The Regulations complete the UK’s transposition of Chapter 1a of EU Directive 2017/828 (amending Directive 2007/36/EC), or more commonly known as the Shareholder Rights Directive.

New rule

The Regulations apply to “traded companies”, which is defined in section 360C of the Companies Act 2006 (“Act”). Companies which have their shares listed on the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange will satisfy the definition. The Regulations will require traded companies to comply with additional obligations, which will be added into the Act as sections 360AA and 360BA:

Where a vote is cast on a poll by electronic means, a traded company must send a confirmation of receipt of such vote to the shareholder who casts the vote. This also includes a proxy or a representative (as authorised by section 323(1) of the Act) who casts the vote in the shareholder’s place.
A shareholder can request information from the company to enable the shareholder to determine that their vote at a general meeting has been validly recorded and counted. A company must comply with such a request if:
- The shareholder makes a request for the information no later than 30 days from the date of the general meeting; and
- The member has no other reasonable means by which to determine that their vote has been validly recorded and counted by the company.

Legal Privilege In The Current Climate and How Not To Lose It

By Hannah Kendrick, Victoria Leigh and Matthew Campbell on July 7, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

Company directors will deal regularly with questions and issues that require some legal input, whether that comes internally or from private practice. Most will be aware that some legal communications attract privilege but less well-understood are the myriad pitfalls that can cause an inadvertent waiver of that legal protection. The post COVID-19 environment sees an ever-increasing volume of work, including board meetings, being carried out remotely by email and telephone or video conference, regulators aggressively policing company conduct and boards needing to justify corporate actions in dealings with suppliers, customers and employees. In times like these it is more important than ever that appropriate steps are taken to ensure that legal privilege is obtained and maintained where possible and appropriate to do so.

What is legal privilege? Continue Reading

International Corporate Governance Network – Governance Priorities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Harry Hobson and Philip Mabbott on April 30, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

Stock Market

On 23 April 2020, the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) published an open letter, setting out governance priorities aimed at executive management, board directors and investors, which aims to help companies maintain viability during the COVID-19 outbreak and its aftermath.

The ICGN letter advocates that board directors and investors have a “shared interest” and therefore a “shared responsibility” to promote the success of companies in a way that “preserves and enhances long-term value, contributing to strong economies and healthy societies”.

COVID-19: The Investment Association’s Position

By Joshua Lodge on April 20, 2020 Posted in AIM, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Listed companies

The Investment Association (IA) has written to the chairs of FTSE 350 companies setting out the position of the IA in relation to certain issues which have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter emphasises the IA’s position as a representative of long-term investors and clarifies the views of its members as regards the need to support businesses which, although impacted by the current situation, remain fundamentally capable of delivering “sustainable long-term value for savers and investors”.

Directors’ Duties in the Context of Covid-19

By Hannah Kendrick on March 26, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

We would like to share with you a post drafted by our colleagues on their Restructuring GlobalView blog. It takes a good look at directors’ duties in these unprecedented times.

AGM (Coronavirus) Season 2020

By Hannah Crosland on March 18, 2020 Posted in AIM, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Listed companies

The 2020 AGM season is upon us at a time of the fast escalating coronavirus pandemic. This briefing looks at the implications of coronavirus on AGMs.

Public companies must hold an AGM within six months of their financial year end. By their very nature, AGMs entail people travelling to gather in one place. This raises questions over possible government bans on travel and limits on the number of people who may gather in any one place. Also, the venue for the AGM may have to close at short notice for deep cleansing. This all presents companies with significant uncertainty around planning the AGM and deciding what contingency plans are available.

How a company decides its approach to its AGM will in part depend on where it is in its reporting cycle and how it perceives the pandemic playing out.

LR, DTR, Prospectus Regulation and MAR: FCA consultation on climate-related and other ESG disclosures

By Harry Hobson on March 18, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

Climate change is clearly something which is at the forefront of the minds of communities and governments. Increasingly, climate change and its impacts are being considered by companies and investors alike, as they become more aware of the potential impact – both directly and indirectly – that climate change may have on the value of assets and prospective profits. In the US for instance, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has assessed that climate change is material for companies in 72 out of 79 industries, which equals 93% of the US equity market.

Equally, as the UK seeks to turn to a low-carbon economy, investors are becoming increasingly interested in committing their money to companies and projects that will support this transition.

Investment Association: Shareholder Priorities for 2020

By Andrew Gawley on February 18, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

In looking at shareholder priorities for the year ahead, the Investment Association (IA) has recently published a report which sets out the areas it believes investors will place greater importance on in terms of corporate delivery. These areas are:

Responding to Climate Change.
Audit Quality.
Stakeholder Engagement and Employee Voice.
Diversity.

Taking a look at each of the areas in turn, the following particular points are made:

The Equal Pay Bill

By Harry Hobson on January 31, 2020 Posted in Corporate Governance

Section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 (as amended by the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, which came into force on 6 April 2017) (“EA 2010“), currently governs how large private and voluntary sector employers (defined as those with 250 or more employees as at 5 April each year) report on and publish information relating to their gender pay gaps.