Notice of General Meeting (Hybrid meeting)

IN LIGHT OF THE ECONOMIC CRIME & CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT 2023, THIS TEMPLATE IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. 

Many companies wish to offer virtual attendance at shareholder meetings for practical and logistical reasons.

This Notice of General Meeting (Hybrid meeting) is designed for a hybrid general meeting, meaning the meeting is held both at a physical location and electronically so shareholders can attend in person or virtually.

Use this notice to convene a hybrid general meeting with a physical location and online attendance

There remains some legal uncertainty over purely virtual general meetings. Section 311 of the Companies Act 2006 requires the notice of a general meeting to state the time, date and place of the meeting, and the uncertainty concerns whether a meeting held purely on an electronic or virtual platform meets the “place” requirement.

Unless a company’s articles specifically prohibit virtual attendance at meetings or require shareholders to be physically present to count as attending, it is generally considered that a company can host a hybrid meeting.

Ensure equal participation for in-person and virtual attendees

For a hybrid meeting to be validly held, all participants (whether physical or virtual) must be able to participate on an equal basis.

Companies will need to ensure they have the technology in place to allow everyone to speak and be heard.

Proxy arrangements where most shareholders attend virtually

Companies where shareholders attend virtually can appoint the chairperson as their proxy.

This template has been drafted on the basis that most shareholders will attend virtually, and the chair has been appointed as their proxy.

Notice of General Meeting (Hybrid meeting) is part of Corporate. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Corporate for 1 year.