The Debate: Should AGMs have to be in person? Opinion New rules could allow companies to hold AGMs entirely online. We hear the case for and against ditching in-person meetings in today's Debate.
Activist investor accuses The Works of unfairly swaying crucial vote Retail The activist investor seeking to tighten its grip on The Works has accused the retailer’s board of attempting to sway a crucial shareholder vote. Kelso, a London-listed activist investor, has been locked in a weeks-long row with the arts and craft retailer, as it attempted to convince shareholders to appoint a former Card Factory executive [...]
Burberry boss faces shareholder revolt over bumper £9.4m pay package Retail Burberry is bracing for a shareholder revolt over a new pay package which could hand the fashion house’s boss nearly £4m in extra bonuses. The British fashion house, known for its iconic trench coat and checked scarves, wants to change its bonus pay structure to allow it to hand chief executive Joshua Schulman a shares [...]
M&S chair: Tax and employment costs holding back Britain July 7, 2026 Rising taxes and employment costs are holding businesses back from investing in Britain and helping it “prosper,” an M&S boss has said. Archie Norman, chairman of the retail giant and former chief executive of Asda, told shareholders on Tuesday that these “big regulatory headwinds” are “not making it easier to invest and prosper in Britain”. [...]
M&S to face shareholder grilling over cyber attack recovery July 6, 2026 Marks and Spencer is set to take a grilling from shareholders over whether it has made a meaningful recovery from the cyber attack which wiped out nearly a third of its profit. The FTSE 100 retailer will face investors at its annual general meeting on Tuesday, where it will expect to be quizzed on whether [...]
Nationwide accused of picking ‘unfair fight’ with member board candidate May 28, 2026 Nationwide has been accused of picking an “unfair fight” with one of its members who has sought to clinch a seat on the building society’s board. The mutual has opted not to recommend the candidacy of James Sherwin-Smith, who is running to be the first member to take a seat on Nationwide’s board in nearly [...]
Next faces shareholder pressure over worker pay May 21, 2026 Shareholders in Next are set to put pressure on the retail giant to take action on its “reliance” on low-paid labour. At Next’s annual general meeting on Thursday, a group of investors will call on the retailer to take further action on worker pay and adopt the “real living wage” for all employees. But the [...]
Banking on a storm: Natwest weathers first of AGM climate rows April 29, 2026 Natwest faced a prickly time in its Edinburgh AGM and in this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at whether fun and games could be in store for its peers. Also on the agenda this week – Revolut heads for some Spanish sun. Natwest chair Rick Haythornthwaite suffered a thorny reception on Tuesday at the bank’s [...]
Natwest forced to pause AGM after climate protest April 28, 2026 Natwest was forced to pause its annual general meeting on Tuesday following a disruption from climate protesters. The FTSE 100 giant’s chairman Rick Haythornthwaite adjourned the meeting – taking place at Natwest’s Gogarburn headquarters in Scotland – after protesters disrupted his address to shareholders. Campaigners had been calling for a protest vote against Haythornthwaite in [...]
What’s the point of AGMs? October 16, 2025 AGMs should be a proper opportunity to engage with investors, instead they have become a pointless compliance exercise. Time to look again, says Emma Burdett So another “AGM season” passes us by with nothing achieved other than a mountain of regulatory work wasting valuable corporate resources. In an ever changing world the conformity of the [...]