Irish Residential Properties REIT plc (IRES)
Result of AGM
04-May-2023 / 17:20 GMT/BST
4 May 2023
Result of Annual General Meeting
Irish Residential Properties REIT plc ("I•RES" or the "Company") announces that at its Annual General Meeting held today, 4 May 2023, at the Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland, all of the resolutions put to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, with the exception of Resolutions 6, 8(a) and 8(b), were passed.
The full text of each resolution, together with explanatory notes, was included in the Notice of Annual General Meeting circulated to shareholders on 3 April 2023 and made available on the Company's website at https://www.iresreit.ie/investors/shareholder-meetings/year/2023.
Voting on all resolutions was conducted by poll and the results are set out below:
Res No.
Title
For
For Percent
Against
Against Percent
Withheld*
Withheld Percent
Total Votes
Percent Issued Capital voted
01
To receive and consider the financial statements for the year
ended 31 December 2022 and the reports of the Directors and
Auditor thereon
366,440,877
99.50%
1,837,576
0.50%
254,915
0.07%
368,278,453
69.54%
2A
Re-Elect Declan Moylan
311,862,304
89.87%
35,158,607
10.13%
21,512,457
6.20%
347,020,911
65.53%
2B
Re-Elect Margaret Sweeney
219,887,691
61.46%
137,860,961
38.54%
10,784,716
3.01%
357,748,652
67.55%
2C
Re-Elect Brian Fagan
182,823,589
54.35%
153,538,569
45.65%
32,171,210
9.56%
336,362,158
63.52%
2D
Re-Elect Joan Garahy
308,920,326
86.34%
48,885,971
13.66%
10,727,071
3.00%
357,806,297
67.56%
2E
Re-Elect Phillip Burns
319,043,343
89.23%
38,496,994
10.77%
10,993,031
3.07%
357,540,337
67.51%
2F
Re-Elect Stefanie Frensch
357,242,350
99.92%
297,987
0.08%
10,993,031
3.07%
357,540,337
67.51%
2G
Re-Elect Tom Kavanagh
317,028,895
88.60%
40,777,402
11.40%
10,727,071
3.00%
357,806,297
67.56%
Res No.
Title
For
For Percent
Against
Against Percent
Withheld*
Withheld Percent
Total Votes
Percent Issued Capital Voted
2H
Elect Hugh Scott-Barrett
324,541,222
90.77%
32,999,115
9.23%
10,993,031
3.07%
357,540,337
67.51%
2I
Elect Denise Turner
356,551,442
99.72%
988,895
0.28%
10,993,031
3.07%
357,540,337
67.51%
03
Authority to call a general meeting on 14 clear days’ notice
330,563,264
89.70%
37,970,104
10.30%
-
0.00%
368,533,368
69.59%
04
Continuation in office of KPMG as Auditor
368,498,919
99.99%
34,449
0.01%
-
0.00%
368,533,368
69.59%
05
Fix Auditor Remuneration
368,520,519
100.00%
12,849
0.00%
-
0.00%
368,533,368
69.59%
06
Receive Remuneration Report
133,051,485
36.10%
235,481,883
63.90%
-
0.00%
368,533,368
69.59%
07
Authority to allot relevant securities up to specified limits
324,168,128
90.78%
32,940,126
9.22%
11,425,114
3.20%
357,108,254
67.43%
8A
Authority to disapply pre-emption rights in specified circumstances
182,708,288
49.66%
185,185,352
50.34%
639,728
0.17%
367,893,640
69.47%
8B
Additional authority to disapply pre-emption rights for an
acquisition or other specified capital investment
182,713,483
49.66%
185,180,157
50.34%
639,728
0.17%
367,893,640
69.47%
9
Authority to make market purchases of the Company’s own shares
359,553,417
97.57%
8,958,089
2.43%
21,862
0.01%
368,511,506
69.59%
10
Authority to re-allot treasury shares at a specific price range
356,987,305
99.97%
120,949
0.03%
11,425,114
3.20%
357,108,254
67.43%
* A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the proportion of votes for or against a resolution.
The Board of I-RES notes that resolutions 6 (To receive and consider the Report of the Remuneration Committee on Directors’ Remuneration), 8(a) (Authority to disapply pre-emption rights in specified circumstances) and 8(b) (Additional authority to disapply pre-emption rights for an acquisition or other specified capital investment) did not receive sufficient support to be passed.
Resolution 6 is an Advisory Resolution and the Board will reflect on the outcome and the disparate range of issues received in relation to the Report. The Board would also like to highlight that it intends to propose a new remuneration policy at the 2024 AGM and will be seeking the views of shareholders on this through a consultation process. Whilst the pre-emption resolution authorities we are seeking are more conservative than current financial guidelines, it is disappointing they have failed to achieve sufficient support for a second consecutive year and appear to show a similar pattern to the narrowly focused dissent received in 2022. The Board will continue to seek to address any misunderstandings around the issuance and use of capital and believes these standard authorities remain in the interests of shareholders.
The Board also notes that, whilst resolutions 2(b) (re-election of Margaret Sweeney) and resolution 2(c) (re-election of Brian Fagan) were passed by a clear majority of shareholders, they each received less than 80% of the votes cast in favour. The I-RES management team have delivered a successful internalisation process and continue to deliver across all key performance metrics. The Board is unanimous in its confidence in the management team’s ability to deliver on the Company’s strategy and will continue to engage with the small number of shareholders who dissented on this matter and to update the market on initiatives to drive value and navigate the current macro challenges.
The Board values engagement and feedback and takes these votes seriously. The Board will continue to engage constructively with all shareholders and maintain its adherence to the highest governance standards including Board composition, aligning capital proposals with the UK Investment Association's Share capital Management Guidelines and the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles, and ensuring remuneration frameworks incentivise the delivery of strategy whilst reflecting the expectations of our stakeholders.
The Board is grateful for the time, support and feedback provided by shareholders in advance of the AGM and will provide an update on its response to dissent on the resolutions highlighted above, in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code, within 6 months of the AGM.
Board and Committee Changes
The following Board changes have taken effect from the conclusion of the AGM:
Aidan O’Hogan retired from the Board; Denise Turner was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director; Joan Garahy has been appointed as the Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee; Tom Kavanagh has been appointed as Chair of the Audit Committee; and Stefanie Frensch has been appointed as Chair of the Sustainability Committee.In accordance with the Listing Rules of Euronext Dublin, copies of the resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting relating to special business of the Company have been forwarded to Euronext Dublin and will shortly be available for inspection at:
For further information please contact:
For Company Secretary:
Anna-Marie Curry companysecretary@iresreit.ie +353 (0)87 4438456
For Investor Relations:
Michelle Ang, Director Investor Relations investors@iresreit.ie +353 (0)87 956 1138
For Media Requests
Melanie Farrell, FTI Consulting ires@fticonsulting.com +353 (0)86401 5250
About Irish Residential Properties REIT plc
Irish Residential Properties REIT plc (I-RES) is a growth oriented Real Estate Investment Trust providing quality professionally managed homes in sustainable communities in Ireland. The Group currently owns approximately 4,000 apartments and houses for private rental in Dublin and Cork. I-RES aims to be the provider of choice for the Irish living sector, known for excellent service and for operating responsibly, minimising its environmental impact, and maximising its contribution to the community. The Company's shares are listed on Euronext Dublin. Further information at www.i-res.ie .
Important information
This note applies if and to the extent that there are forward-looking statements in this Announcement.
This Announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or the industry in which it operates, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements referred to in this paragraph speak only as at the date of this Announcement. Except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority, the Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revision or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect future events, circumstances, unanticipated events, new information or otherwise.
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ISIN: IE00BJ34P519 Category Code: RAG TIDM: IRES LEI Code: 635400EOPACLULRENY18 OAM Categories: 3.1. Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State Sequence No.: 241538 EQS News ID: 1625101
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