The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020 (Regulations) were published yesterday. The Regulations amend the end date of the Relevant Period to 30 December 2020.
As detailed in our previous blog post under the section “Holding of AGMs”, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) introduced provisions relating to the conduct of certain meetings of companies and other qualifying bodies due to take place between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2020 (Relevant Period) to ensure that such meetings can be held in a manner consistent with the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Act temporarily allows companies to hold a meeting on a “closed basis”. Such meetings, and voting, can therefore be carried out virtually and without participants being together at the same place. Members will not have the right to attend the meeting in person, participate other than by voting or to vote by a particular means. These flexibilities apply irrespective of provisions to the contrary contained within a company’s constitution. The Act also permits companies (or other qualifying bodies) to extend the period within which they must hold an AGM due to be held during the Relevant Period. Companies (or other qualifying bodies) are given until the end of the Relevant Period to hold such meetings.
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