("Lombard" or the "Company")
Notice of General Meeting
Lombard announces that notice of a general meeting (the “Notice”) has today been sent to shareholders of the Company convening a general meeting ("
The following is an extract from the Notice which has been posted to shareholders today. A full copy of the Notice, including the resolutions being proposed, is on the Company’s website at www.lombardcapitalplc.com
Dear Shareholder
Proposed Change of Business Strategy
Proposed increase of authorities to allot securities
and
Notice of General Meeting
1. Introduction
As referred to in the unaudited interim results for the period ending on
The Board has decided that it is the best interests of the Company and Shareholders to expand our business strategy, to include property investment and development. Your Board intends, as soon as it is able to do so, to carry out a substantial fundraising to provide funds to pursue the revised business strategy.
This circular sets out details of the revised business strategy and contains a notice of a General Meeting at which resolutions will be put to Shareholders to approve the revision of the business strategy and to extend the authorities to allot securities.
The General Meeting of the Company is to be held at
Due to Covid-19 and related legal restrictions and guidance from government authorities, shareholders may not physically attend the meeting, and will not be permitted access to the venue on the day of the meeting. Shareholders are strongly encouraged to participate in the meeting by voting by proxy ahead of the meeting.
2. Proposed revised business strategy
The Company’s strategy has been to seek to take advantage of opportunities to invest in or acquire a company or companies, or businesses or assets, and to secure bond investments where the instrument is fully secured by tangible assets. In
Initial refurbishment and redevelopment of the Gaskell House property has been carried out with the funds available. While this has added value to the site, having assessed the current position, your Directors consider that shareholders’ funds and the expertise of the Board would be better utilised in more general property investment.
The Directors have considered a number of potential opportunities, and have decided that it is in the best interests of the Company and Shareholders to expand our business strategy, to include a focus on property investment and development. While the development of waste assets is not precluded, the future of the Gaskell House property is under consideration, and it is possible that it will be disposed of in the near term to realise funds for other property investment and development which we believe can create shareholder value more readily. The Directors are seeking the approval of Shareholders to the revision of the business strategy described above, as set out in resolution 1 in the notice of General Meeting.
3. Authority to allot securities
At the recent annual general meeting, resolutions were passed to renew the authorities to allot securities, providing inter alia authorities to allot securities for cash up to a nominal amount of £20,000 (20,000,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p). It is proposed that the authorities be increased to a nominal amount of £30,000 (30,000,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p), in order both to allow for a substantial fundraising and to preserve a similar amount of headroom as was provided at the recent annual general meeting for further share issues on exercise of options and warrants, and generally.
There are outstanding options to subscribe for up to 350,000 Ordinary Shares at 4.5p per share, and outstanding warrants to subscribe for 10,985,000 Ordinary Shares at 10p per share. There are 14,809,784 Ordinary Shares currently in issue. If the outstanding options and warrants are exercised in full, the Ordinary Shares arising would represent approximately 43% of the enlarged ordinary share capital.
Resolutions 2 and 3 in the notice of General Meeting replace the authorities to allot securities both generally and for the allotment of securities for cash (disapplying statutory pre-emption rights) in the increased total nominal amount of £30,000.
4. General Meeting
At the end of this Circular is a notice convening a General Meeting of the Company to be held at
(a) the revision of the business strategy (ordinary resolution);
(b) general authority to allot securities for the purposes of s551 of the Companies Act 2006 (ordinary resolution); and
(c) specific authority to allot securities for cash for the purposes of s570 of the Companies Act 2006 (special resolution).
Due to Covid-19 and related legal restrictions and guidance from government authorities, Shareholders may not physically attend the General Meeting other than to form a quorum, and will not be permitted access to the venue on the day of the meeting. Shareholders are strongly encouraged to participate in the meetings by voting by proxy ahead of the meetings.
5. Action to be taken
Shareholders will find a form of proxy enclosed for use at the General Meeting. Whether or not you intend to be present at either meeting, you are requested to complete and return the forms of proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon as soon as possible. To be valid, completed forms of proxy must be received by the Company’s Registrars,
You are entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and to exercise all or any of your rights to vote and to speak at the meetings instead of you. Completion of the forms of proxy will not preclude you from attending and voting at the meetings in person if you so wish. Your attention is drawn to the notes to the forms of proxy.
Given the restrictions on attendance in person, you are encouraged to appoint the Chairman of the meeting to submit proxy votes at the meeting, rather than a named person who will not be permitted to attend the physical meeting.
6. Recommendation
The Directors consider the Resolutions to be in the best interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole. The Directors therefore unanimously recommend that you vote in favour of the Resolutions at the General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings.
Yours faithfully,
Chairman
The directors of
For further information please contact:
Tel: 07718 883813
AQSE Corporate Adviser:
Nick Michaels: 020 3772 0021