Last checked at 18 Mar 2020 15:45
18 March 2020
Safestore Holdings plc
("Safestore", "the Company" or "the Group")
Update on Covid-19
And
Result of Annual General Meeting
Update on Covid-19
COVID-19 continues to create uncertainty and the Board and management are monitoring the ongoing situation closely. Our top priority is the safety of our staff and customers, and we continue to follow Public Health England's advice and guidance.
COVID-19 is creating uncertainty for all businesses and while the Company's performance is correlated in part to GDP, the Company has a track record of resilience in economic down-turn. Safestore is well-capitalised with a strong balance sheet and significant headroom under its current debt facilities with none due for renewal until 2023 at the earliest. Following advice from the governments in France and Spain, our stores in Paris and Barcelona are closed or are operating under certain restrictions. We continue to earn revenue in these stores but customer move-ins and move-outs are reduced. To date Safestore has not seen a noticeable impact on its key trading performance indicators.
The Company will continue to update the market as necessary.
Annual General Meeting
The 2020 Annual General Meeting of Safestore Holdings plc was held at midday today at the Company's registered office in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
All resolutions were passed by the requisite majority by way of a poll.
Commenting on the result of the AGM David Hearn, Chairman of Safestore said:
"I am pleased that all resolutions were duly passed and would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support.
The Board engaged extensively with a significant number of our large institutional shareholders and investor bodies to guide the development of our new remuneration policy and LTIP structure which have both been well received. The financial results for the year ended 31 October 2019 were a testament to the strength of Safestore's business model and management team, delivering another solid trading performance with significant strategic and operational progress.
While the current market backdrop maintains some uncertainty relating to COVID-19, the Company has built a resilient platform for long term growth."
The following votes were cast in respect of the AGM resolutions:
| Ordinary Resolution | Votes For | % | Votes Against | % | Votes Total | % of Issued Share Capital Voted | Votes Witheld |
1 | To receive the Annual Report and Accounts | 170,762,082 | 100.00% | 210 | 0.00% | 170,762,292 | 81.15% | 616,293 |
2 | To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report | 165,662,542 | 96.82% | 5,436,734 | 3.18% | 171,099,276 | 81.31% | 279,309 |
3 | To appoint Deloitte LLP as auditor | 170,815,294 | 100.00% | 3,443 | 0.00% | 170,818,737 | 81.17% | 559,848 |
4 | To authorise the Directors to determine the auditors' remuneration | 171,290,809 | 100.00% | 2,843 | 0.00% | 171,293,652 | 81.40% | 84,933 |
5 | To declare a final dividend of 12.00 pence per ordinary share | 171,294,237 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 171,294,237 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
6 | To elect David Hearn as a Director | 168,975,196 | 98.92% | 1,844,040 | 1.08% | 170,819,236 | 81.17% | 559,348 |
7 | To re-elect Frederic Vecchioli as a Director | 171,028,736 | 99.85% | 265,501 | 0.15% | 171,294,237 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
8 | To re-elect Andy Jones as a Director | 170,322,830 | 99.43% | 971,407 | 0.57% | 171,294,237 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
9 | To re-elect Ian Krieger as a director | 169,105,258 | 98.72% | 2,188,978 | 1.28% | 171,294,236 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
10 | To re-elect Joanne Kenrick as a Director | 170,167,362 | 99.34% | 1,125,375 | 0.66% | 171,292,737 | 81.40% | 85,848 |
11 | To elect Claire Balmforth as a Director | 166,175,274 | 97.56% | 4,161,811 | 2.44% | 170,337,085 | 80.94% | 1,041,500 |
12 | To elect Bill Oliver as a Director | 170,569,575 | 99.58% | 723,162 | 0.42% | 171,292,737 | 81.40% | 85,848 |
13 | To approve the new Directors' Remuneration Policy | 167,676,057 | 97.89% | 3,615,427 | 2.11% | 171,291,484 | 81.40% | 87,100 |
14 | To approve the 2020 Long Term Incentive Plan | 167,534,248 | 97.81% | 3,752,736 | 2.19% | 171,286,984 | 81.40% | 91,600 |
15 | To authorise political donations and political expenditure | 164,291,243 | 99.36% | 1,064,868 | 0.64% | 165,356,111 | 78.58% | 6,022,474 |
16 | To authorise the directors to allot relevant securities | 164,346,056 | 95.94% | 6,948,055 | 4.06% | 171,294,111 | 81.40% | 84,474 |
| Special Resolution* |
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17 | To authorise the dis-application of pre-emption rights | 171,032,730 | 99.85% | 261,507 | 0.15% | 171,294,237 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
18 | To authorise market purchases of ordinary shares | 169,704,798 | 99.48% | 889,103 | 0.52% | 170,593,901 | 81.07% | 784,683 |
19 | To authorise general to be called on not less than 14 clear days' notice meetings other than annual general meetings | 161,806,771 | 94.46% | 9,487,466 | 5.54% | 171,294,237 | 81.40% | 84,348 |
*Special Resolutions requiring a 75% majority
Notes
Where shareholders appointed the Chairman as their proxy with discretion as to voting, their votes were cast in favour of the resolutions and their shares have been included in the "votes for" column.
A "vote withheld" is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the percentages of votes cast for and against a resolution.
The current issued capital of Safestore Holdings plc is 210,438,899 shares.
In accordance with LR 9.6.2, copies of the resolutions passed as special business will be forwarded to the FCA for publication through the Document Viewing Facility and will be accessible via the National Storage Mechanism website at http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM
For further information, please contact:
Safestore Holdings plc Helen Bramall, Company Secretary
www.safestore.com
| 020 8732 1500 |
Instinctif Partners Guy Scarborough Catherine Wickman | 020 7457 2020 |
Notes to editors:
· Safestore is the UK's largest self-storage group with 158 stores, comprising 126 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 71 in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol). In Paris the Group has 28 wholly owned stores and recently acquired 4 stores in Barcelona. In addition, the Group operates 6 stores in the Netherlands under a joint venture agreement with Carlyle.
· Safestore operates more self-storage sites inside the M25 and in central Paris than any competitor providing more proximity to customers in the wealthiest and densest UK and French markets.
· Safestore was founded in the UK in 1998. It acquired the French business "Une Pièce en Plus" ("UPP") in 2004 which was founded in 1998 by the current Safestore Group CEO Frederic Vecchioli.
· Safestore has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007. It entered the FTSE 250 index in October 2015.
· The Group provides storage to around 71,000 personal and business customers.
· As at 31 January 2020, Safestore had a maximum lettable area ("MLA") of 6.71 million sq ft (excluding the expansion pipeline stores) of which 4.96 million sq ft was occupied.
· Safestore employs around 680 people in the UK, Paris and Barcelona.