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Solicitors | In House Counsel
There was no prior specific obligation on an AIM Company to explain the pay of Directors
other than in its Admission Document. This means that if a Company did not volunteer
the information on interim appointments being made, shareholders would not know
the specific terms of a particular director’s pay unless they served a requisition
on the Company under s Companies Act 2006. Although a Company cannot impose
a condition of confidentiality as a term for release of such information, neither
can it be presumed that a requisitionist is unfettered in how they publicise the
information.
The AIM Rules now provide that for AIM companies with a financial year
end of 31 March 2010 or thereafter , disclosure must be made in its audited accounts
of:
• any transaction with a related party, whether or not previously disclosed under
the AIM Rules, where any of the class tests exceed 0.25% and must specify the identity
of the related party and the consideration for the transaction; and
• details of directors’
remuneration earned in respect of the financial year by each director of the AIM
company acting in such capacity during the financial year.
Directors’ remuneration
means :
a) emoluments and compensation, including any cash or non-cash benefits received;
b)
share options and other long term incentive plan details, including information on
all outstanding
options and/or awards; and
c) value of any contributions paid by the
AIM company to a pension scheme.
The AIM Rules still do not compel companies to disclose Directors’ remuneration when they fill a casual vacancy outside of the audited account reporting regime. This point came under particular scrutiny by shareholders who requisitioned a General Meeting of Lupus Capital plc in October 2009.
Following that company’s refinancing in April 2009, the Executive Chairman Greg Hutchings left and two new interim directors were appointed as CEO and CFO. There was no public disclosure at the time of their appointment of the pay of the new interim directors. Subsequent requisitions by shareholders revealed that the new Directors were paid on a daily rate with milestone related success payments which annualised at some £1.5 million between them. In the space of some 9 months, Lupus Capital plc has seen a turnover of 11 Directors on its Board with 5 Board departures and 6 appointments. Lupus perhaps learned the lesson of earlier controversies when announcing the appointment in 2010 of its new CEO with effect from February 2010 . In that case they set out his salary remuneration package.

