Volta Finance has made an announcement in relation to the results of its AGM, which was held on 8 December 2020, and raises questions as to whether some shareholders are disgruntled and whether some of the directors might be in the firing line. To summarise, the votes against the resolutions to approve the re-election of the directors, Graham Harrison, Stephen Le Page, Paul Meader, and Paul Varotsis were all quite substantial and summarised as follows:
- Resolution 4 – To re-elect Mr Graham Harrison as an independent director of the Company – 33.81% of votes were cast against
- Resolution 5 – To re-elect Mr Stephen Le Page as a an independent director of the Company – 33.81% of votes were cast against
- Resolution 6 – To re-elect Mr Paul Meader as a an independent director of the Company– 33.69% of votes were cast against
- Resolution 7 – To re-elect Mr Paul Varotsis as a an independent director of the Company– 33.81% of votes were cast against
Board reaction
The Board says that, through the Company’s corporate broker, it has sought to engage with the dissenting shareholders to understand their concerns. However, despite multiple efforts, the Board and its adviser have been unsuccessful to date in gaining any response. The Board is now publicly invites the dissenting shareholders to engage, either directly through the Chairman or Senior Independent Director or through the corporate broker, so that the directors may seek to address the dissenting shareholders’ concerns.
[QD comment: This is a pretty unusual situation. The level of votes cast against the re-election of these board members is high, suggesting that a significant minority of shareholders are not happy. If this is the case, these shareholders now need to engage with the board and give them the opportunity to address their concerns. Watch this space.]