Evolving AGM Formats And Logistics
The 2025 EQ AGM forum highlighted the increasing flexibility in how companies conduct their AGMs. While physical meetings remain the norm, with 73% of FTSE 100 and 94% of FTSE 250 companies holding physical-only AGMs, some companies have introduced pre-recorded presentations and shorter updates to encourage more shareholder engagement and minimise disruptions.
Key Takeaways:
- Board Attendance: We’re seeing companies adopting a varied approach, with some board members attending in person and others joining virtually, depending on the meeting format.
- Venue Choices: London remains the most popular location for FTSE 250 companies, but there is a near-even split between London and other venues for FTSE 100 companies.
- Timing: Most AGMs are scheduled between 10am and 1pm, with Thursdays being the preferred day.
Shareholder Engagement: Challenges And Solutions
Shareholder engagement remains a key priority for issuers. However, attendance by retail shareholders continues to be low. In fact, over 60% of FTSE 100 and 80% of FTSE 250 AGMs managed by Equiniti in 2025 recording 25 or fewer retail shareholders in attendance. Institutional investors, meanwhile, typically exercise their votes in advance and seldom attend meetings in person.
Best Practices For Engagement:
- Centralised Information: Maintain an easily accessible AGM hub on your website with all relevant documents and updates.
- Clear Communication: Use plain language and clear signposting in all materials.
- Multiple Channels: Offer email addresses for questions, provide personal responses, and publish Q&As online for transparency.
- Digital Tools: Encourage shareholders to sign up for updates and leverage multimedia content such as videos and FAQs.
Voting Trends And Hot Topics
Our AGM Forum revealed that while overall shareholder support remains high, there is a noticeable increase in dissent on certain resolutions, particularly around remuneration.
Key Voting Insights:
- Director Elections: Continue to receive strong support, though there is a slight rise in directors receiving less than 80% approval.
- Remuneration Reports: The number of reports receiving under 80% support has doubled, with issues such as excessive pay and misaligned incentives driving dissent.
- Remuneration Policy: Average support remains consistent with previous years. Importantly, we haven’t seen any failed resolutions, but there has been a modest increase in the number of policies receiving below 80% support.
- Share Capital Authorities: Remain routine and well-supported, though support for some resolutions, like the disapplication of pre-emption rights, has softened this year.
Regulatory And Industry Updates
The UK government’s Industrial Strategy and the Digitisation Task Force are driving significant changes in shareholder communications and AGM processes.
What’s Changing:
- Digitisation: The move towards fully digital shareholding and communication models is accelerating, with a focus on making it easier for beneficial owners to exercise their rights.
- Virtual AGMs: Legal clarity is still pending, but companies are preparing for potential changes that could make virtual and hybrid meetings more common.
- Shareholder Rights: Efforts are underway to ensure all shareholders, including those holding shares via intermediaries, have full voting rights and access to information.
You can discover more insights within our recent panel discussion as part of the EQ Conference 2025. The session provides a practical guide to the digitisation task force recommendations, with each panel member playing a part in explaining dematerialisation.
Looking Ahead: Preparing For 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, there are a few themes that issuers should keep on their radar.
- Except for Provision 29, the 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code will become applicable.
- We’ve seen more companies testing the boundaries on remuneration structures, a trend likely to continue into 2026 as many issuers will be renewing their policies.
- There has been a growing emphasis on investor choice, driven by developments in pass-through voting by the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street.
- Activism was also a prominent feature of the 2025 proxy season, with an increase in both financial and values-driven campaigns. Though, whether this trend continues into 2026, we’ll have to wait and see.
2026 Major Theme
Understanding digitisation and what that means for the AGM and related activities. Sub-themes include: the process of reviewing and proposing changes to Articles of Association for shareholder approval, shareholder communications (preparing for and encouraging digital communications), and payments of dividends (preparing for and encouraging take-up of payments through collection of bank mandate details).