- M&S's annual general meeting to remain a "digital-first" event
- Shareholders have been encouraged to submit questions in advance
Marks and Spencer (MKS) has asked shareholders to attend next month's AGM online despite last year's backlash from investor rights champions. The retailer shifted from telling investors to stay away but still insisted they would "enjoy the best experience" by joining the meeting online.
Last year, M&S shareholders complained when the company’s AGM notice asked them not to turn up in person, adding that board members would not be available to interact with them. Some still travelled to the venue and were admitted into the room.
M&S changed its approach this year. The 2024 AGM notice says seats will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis on 2 July.
Shareholders had mixed feelings about the change. Private investor champion, Lord John Lee, the UK's first Isa millionaire, noted that in the AGM notice “what is not clear is how many seats there are, nor whether there will be an opportunity for attending shareholders to meet with the board”.
“It is such a pity that after a great recovery in fortunes and share price, they are still so pig-headed over the AGM," he added. The company has said every shareholder who comes in person will have a seat.
Mark Northway, director of campaigning organisation ShareSoc, said the term digital-first was "unfortunate and less than friendly to individual investors", but added that this year's hybrid approach constitutes a step forward "from last year’s deplorable digital-only experiment".
"Our view is that public listed companies should do everything in their power to encourage shareholder involvement and stewardship through an open invitation to attend by physical or virtual means," he said. "There is great value to meeting with the company executives at the AGM and having the opportunity to discuss concerns and provide feedback away from the formal business of the meeting... for some shareholders this is the fundamental benefit of AGM attendance, while for many others the logistical advantages of participating from home will prove more attractive.
"What matters is that the choice rests with the shareholder, not with the company."
Cliff Weight, a member of the M&S shareholder panel and ShareSoc member, said: “I am glad M&S have listened to feedback from ShareSoc, and this year have allowed shareholders who wish to attend in person to do so.”
M&S told Investors’ Chronicle that the board will be available to meet with shareholders who attend in person.
“We are looking forward to our AGM on 2 July, when we will welcome shareholders both digitally and in person. However shareholders choose to participate, we are sure it will be a typically lively and informative meeting for all involved, with lots of questions for our board on a wide range of topics,” a company spokesperson said.
M&S held its first hybrid AGM before the pandemic in 2019 and later moved to fully digital meetings. It says shareholder participation increased significantly as a result. But critics point out that focusing on digital can make it harder for shareholders to adequately challenge the board. The company has “strongly encouraged” shareholders to submit questions in advance, some of which will be put to the board by journalist Anita Anand.
Last year, M&S also launched a campaign to modernise company law and allow digital communication between companies and shareholders. Weight expressed his disappointment that “very little progress on this much more important point has been made”.
