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Circular

18 Jul 2017 18:03

RNS Number : 4356L
World Trade Systems PLC
18 July 2017
 

THIS CIRCULAR AND THE ACCOMPANYING FORM OF PROXY ARE IMPORTANT AND REQUIRE YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you are recommended to seek immediately your own financial advice from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other appropriate independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.

 

If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your Ordinary Shares please forward this Circular and the accompanying Form of Proxy as soon as possible to the purchaser or transferee, or to the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for delivery to the purchaser or transferee. If you have sold or otherwise transferred part of your holding of Ordinary Shares, you should retain these documents and consult the stockbroker, bank or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected. Any person (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) who may have a contractual or legal obligation or may otherwise intend to forward this Circular to any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom should seek appropriate advice before taking any action. The distribution of this Circular and any accompanying documents into jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law. Any person not in the United Kingdom into whose possession this Circular and any accompanying documents come should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

 

This Circular should be read as a whole. Your attention is drawn to the letter from the Chairman of the Company set out on pages 5 to 7 (inclusive) of this Circular which recommends that you vote in favour of the Resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting.

 

 

WORLD TRADE SYSTEMS PLC

 (Registered in England and Wales under number 01698076)

 

Ratification of all unapproved related party transactions between the Company and Kudrow Finance Limited ("Kudrow") which consist of loans made or assumed by Kudrow

 

and Notice of General Meeting

 

BDO LLP, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively as sponsor to the Company in relation to the Ratification and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of BDO LLP nor for providing advice in relation to the Ratification or any other transaction or arrangement referred to in this Circular and, apart from the responsibilities and liabilities which may be imposed on BDO LLP under FSMA, BDO LLP accepts no responsibility whatsoever and makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, for or in respect of the contents of this Circular, including its accuracy, completeness or verification, nor for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with the Company or the Ratification and nothing contained in this Circular is, or shall be relied on as a promise or representation in this respect, whether as to the past or the future, in connection with the Company or the Ratification. BDO LLP accordingly disclaims to the fullest extent permitted by law all and any responsibility and liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which it might otherwise be found to have in respect of this Circular or any such statement.

 

Notice of the General Meeting of World Trade Systems plc, to be held at 11.00 a.m. on 4 August 2017 at the Company's principal place of business at St. Mary's Court, The Broadway, Amersham HP7 0UT as set out at the end of this Circular. A Form of Proxy is enclosed for use by Independent Shareholders in connection with the meeting. To be valid, completed Forms of Proxy must be received in one of the following ways in accordance with the instructions printed thereon as soon as possible and, in any event, so as to be received no later than 11.00 a.m. on 2 August, 2017. Completed and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude Independent Shareholders from attending and voting at the General Meeting should they so wish. To send your Form of Proxy either; post or deliver to Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT. Scan and email to info@wts-shareholders.com. Use the online form only if you intend to give the Chairman the proxy for all your shares to vote for one of the following: "for", "against" or "withheld" (SurveyMonkey link has been sent via email to shareholders using their unique shareholder log-in on 18 July 2017). CREST members may also choose to utilise the CREST electronic proxy appointment service in accordance with the procedures set out in the notice convening the General Meeting at the end of this Circular.

 

Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude Independent Shareholders from attending and voting at the General Meeting should they so wish.

 

 

 

CONTENTS

PAGE

EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS

3

DIRECTORS, SECRETARY AND ADVISERS TO THE COMPANY

4

PART I LETTER FROM THE NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

5

PART II ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

8

PART III DEFINITIONS

11

PART IV DETAILS OF THE KUDROW LOANS

13

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING

14

 

 

 

 

EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS

 

Posting of Circular 18 July 2017

 

Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of Proxy for the General Meeting 2 August 2017 (11.00 am)

 

Date and time of General Meeting 4 August 2017

(11.00 am)

 

Notes:

 

1 References to times in this timetable are to London (BST) times unless otherwise stated.

 

2 Each of the times and dates in the above timetable is indicative only and subject to change, in which event details of the new times and/or dates will be notified to the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange and, where appropriate, Shareholders by means of an announcement made through a Regulatory Information Service.

 

DIRECTORS, SECRETARY AND ADVISERS TO THE COMPANY

 

Directors: Robert Osborne Lee (Non-executive Chairman)

Shao Chen (Vice Chairman, Executive Director)

Abdul Khader Mohamed (AKM) Ismail (Ismail) (Finance Director)

Lu Xin (Ellen) (Non-executive Director)

John Anthony Hoskinson (Tony) (Non-executive Director)

 

Registered Office Tricor Suite 4th Floor

of the Company and 50 Mark Lane

each of the Directors: London

EC3R 7QR

 

Principal Place of Business: St Mary's Court

The Broadway

Amersham

HP7 0UT

 

Telephone Number: +44(0)1494590515

 

 

Company Secretary: Robert Lee

Tricor Suite

4th Floor

50 Mark Lane

London

EC3R 7QR

 

Sponsor: BDO LLP

55 Baker Street

London

W1U 3EU

 

Auditors: Grant Thornton (UK) LLP

Grant Thornton House

Melton Street

Euston Square

Euston

London

NW1 2EP

 

Legal Advisers to the Company: Gateley Plc

Ship Canal House

98 King Street

Manchester

M2 4WU

 

Registrar and CREST Service Provider: Neville Registrars Limited

Neville House

18 Laurel Lane

Halesowen

B63 3D

 

 

 

LETTER FROM THE NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

 

WORLD TRADE SYSTEMS PLC

(Registered in England and Wales under number 01698076)

 

Directors Registered Office

Robert Lee (Non-Executive Chairman) Tricor Suite

Shao Chen (Vice Chairman, Executive Director) 4th Floor

AKM Ismail (Finance Director) 50 Mark Lane

Ellen Lu (Non-Executive Director) London

Tony Hoskinson (Non-Executive Director) EC3R 7QR

 

18 July 2017

 

 

 

Dear Shareholder,

 

Ratification of all unapproved loans to the Company made or assumed by Kudrow as related party transactions and Notice of General Meeting

 

1. Background

 

Since 2001, when the Company disposed of its only operating business, World Trade Systems (HK) Ltd, up until the establishment last year of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary in China ("WTS China"), and its commencement of business from July 2016, the Company was basically operating without any source of income, and was completely reliant on support from its then majority and controlling shareholder, Kudrow , a holding company established in the British Virgin Islands on 30 November 1999 (L.B.C. No. 354976).

 

As a result Kudrow was called upon to provide working capital loans (the "Kudrow Loans") to the Company from time to time, when needed to cover the costs of maintaining the Company. These costs consisted of professional fees relating to the preparation of financial statements, preparation and filing of the Annual Reports, Company Secretarial fees, legal and accounting fees relating to the Annual General Meetings of the Company, legal and professional advisory work in relation to examining various business opportunities, and other costs associated with holding of General Meetings of the Company. Although the Kudrow Loans have been detailed in the historic Annual Reports of the Company, and therefore are fully disclosed to all Shareholders and members of the public, they were never formally approved by the Shareholders before the monies were advanced. This failure to obtain prior Shareholder approval for each of the loans constituted a breach of the Listing Rules concerning related party transactions ("Related Party Transactions"). Whilst Kudrow remains a related party under the Listing Rules, it is no longer the majority and controlling shareholder of the Company. Antares Cheung, the beneficial owner of Kudrow, resigned as a director of the Company on 23 June 2017.

 

Now that the Company is in the process of applying for re-listing of its shares to the Standard Segment of the Official List of the FCA, the Board, in consultation with its advisors, has decided that it is appropriate to clear these past breaches by obtaining retrospective approval of the Kudrow Loans at a General Meeting of all the members in accordance with the Notice which accompanies this Letter.

 

Shareholders are referred to Part IV of this document which traces the genesis of the Kudrow Loans, and details the amount of principal and interest currently outstanding. The Kudrow Loans were originally intended to be unsecured and interest free, however in 2010 it was agreed that interest would accrue on the outstanding loan amount at 5 per cent. and subsequently 3 per cent. per annum.

 

On 17 July 2017 Kudrow confirmed that it had waived its right to all accrued interest.

 

Subject to the final plans for the re-listing which are still under discussion, it is intended that the outstanding Kudrow Loans of £860,363 may be converted to ordinary shares of the Company upon re-listing. 

 

2. Details of the loans made by Kudrow

 

As shown in Part IV of this document, the outstanding principal amount of the Kudrow Loans is £860,363. As noted above, Kudrow has waived its right to the accrued interest, which, as of the date of waiver, was of £241,000. The Directors believe that the waiver of interest will have a positive impact on the Company's balance sheet.

 

Kudrow sourced the funds for the Kudrow Loans from Glory Time Holdings Inc., a company under the control of Antares Cheng, who was until 23 June 2017, a non-executive director of the Company.

 

3. General Meeting

 

The Kudrow Loans, when made, would have been Related Party Transactions for the purposes of the Listing Rules, therefore the Company should have obtained the approval of the Independent Shareholders before such loans were made. The Company is now seeking retrospective approval of the Independent Shareholders for these Related Party Transactions.

 

Accordingly you will find set out at the end of this Circular a notice convening a General Meeting of the Company to be held at the Company's principal place of business in Amersham on 4 August, 2017 to consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following Resolution which shall be proposed as an ordinary resolution:

 

"That the loans made by Kudrow (which as at 17 July 2017 is the registered holder of 2,596,139 Ordinary Shares constituting approximately 29.66% of the issued share capital of the Company) of which £860,363 of principal remains outstanding as at the date hereof), and which were, when made, Related Party Transactions (as defined in Listing Rule 11.1.5R of the Listing Rules) be ratified and approved."

 

4. Further information

 

Your attention is drawn to the further information set out in Part II of this Circular. You are advised to read the whole of this Circular and not just rely on the summary information presented above.

 

5. Importance of Vote

 

This Circular has not been reviewed by the UKLA nor has the Company been specifically directed or required to hold a General Meeting to rectify the past breaches concerning Related Party Transactions. However, the newly constituted Board believes that it is very important, especially in the context of its application for re-listing to the Standard Segment of the Official List of the FCA, that it demonstrates a strong commitment to full compliance with the Listing Rules and all other aspects of good corporate governance, especially now that the Company has re-commenced business operations. Accordingly, the Board recommends that all Independent Shareholders make every effort to participate in this meeting.

 

The failure to pass the Resolution at the General Meeting will not result in the Kudrow Loans being cancelled.

 

6. Action to be taken

 

Shareholders will find enclosed a Form of Proxy for use at the General Meeting. Whether or not you intend to be present at the meeting, you are asked to complete the Form of Proxy using one of the following methods;

 

· Printing, completing, posting or delivering to Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT

· or printing, completing, scanning and emailing to info@wts-shareholders.com;

· or completing the online only if you intend to give the Chairman the proxy for all your shares to vote for one of the following: "for", "against" or "withheld" (SurveyMonkey link has been sent via email to shareholders using their unique shareholder log-in on 18 July 2017).

· or, if you hold ordinary shares in CREST, submitting your proxies electronically by using the your investor code in the CREST electronic proxy appointment service at www.euroclear.com. The Receiving Agents CREST ID is 7RA11.

In any event, the Form of Proxy must be received no later than 11.00 a.m. on 2 August 2017. Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the General Meeting and voting in person should you so wish.

 

7. Recommendation

 

The Board believes that the Ratification and the Resolution are fair and reasonable as far as the Shareholders are concerned and in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole.

 

Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends the Independent Shareholders to vote in favour of the Resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting, as those Directors, who are also Shareholders, have irrevocably undertaken to do in respect of their own beneficial holdings of shareholdings which amount, in aggregate, to 2,500,000 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 28.56 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company.

 

As the Ratification is a Related Party Transaction neither Kudrow nor its duly authorised representatives will vote on the Resolution.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

Robert Osborne Lee

Non-Executive Chairman

18 July 2017

 

 

 

PART II

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

1. RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

 

The Company and the Directors, whose names appear in paragraph 2 of this Part II, accept responsibility for the information contained in this Circular. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the Company and the Directors (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case) the information contained in this Circular is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the importance of such information.

 

2. THE COMPANY AND THE DIRECTORS

 

The Company

 

World Trade Systems plc was incorporated on 9 February 1983 under the Companies Acts 1948 to 1981 with the name Aims Homes Limited under the laws of England and Wales with registration number 01698076. On 8 July 1988 the Company was re-registered as a public limited company under the legal and commercial name of Tamaris Plc. On 13 October 2000 the Company was re-registered with the legal and commercial name World Trade Systems plc. The registered office, telephone number and principal place of business of the Company are set out on page 4 of this Circular. The principal legislation under which the Company operates is the Companies Act and the regulations made thereunder.

 

Directors

 

The names and principal functions of the Directors of the Company are:

 

Robert Lee (Non-Executive Chairman)

AKM Ismail (Finance Director)

Shao Chen (Vice Chairman, Executive Director)

Ellen Lu (Non-Executive Director)

Tony Hoskinson (Non-Executive Director)

 

3. DIRECTORS' INTERESTS

 

As at the LPD, the interests of each Director, their immediate families and related trusts, and, insofar as is known to them or could with reasonable diligence be ascertained by them, persons connected (within the meaning of sections 252 to 255 of the Companies Act) with the Director (all of which interests, unless otherwise stated, are beneficial) in the share capital of the Company, including interests arising pursuant to any transaction notified to the Company pursuant to rule 3.1.2 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, are as follows:

 

 

Director

Number of Ordinary Shares as at the LPD

Percentage of issued Ordinary Shares as at the LPD

Robert Lee

Nil

Nil

AKM Ismail

Nil

Nil

Shao Chen

2,500,000

28.56

Ellen Lu

Nil

Nil

Tony Hoskinson

Nil

Nil

 

4. MAJOR INTERESTS IN ORDINARY SHARES

 

Set out in the table below are the names of those persons, other than the Directors, who, so far as the Company is aware, are interested, directly or indirectly, in 3 per cent. or more of the Company's total voting rights and capital in issue as at the LPD.

 

Shareholder

Number of Ordinary Shares as at the LPD

Percentage of issued Ordinary Shares as at the LPD

Kudrow Finance Limited

2,596,139

29.66

Suzhou Weibao Investment Co. Ltd ("SZWB")*

2,500,000

28.56

Musashino Industries Co., Ltd

500,000

5.71

Pershing Nominees Limited

430,000

4.91

Barclays Share Nominees Limited

277,080

3.17

 

 

*SZWB is controlled by Shao Chen, who is a director of the Company.

**Antares Cheung, who resigned as a director of the Company on 23 June 2017, is the beneficial owner of Kudrow.

 

 

5. DETAILS OF SERVICE CONTRACTS

 

Robert Lee is a director and the owner of Proclass Limited which is a company that provides company secretarial and nominee services. Proclass has been sole corporate director of Kudrow since September 2004.

 

6. MATERIAL CONTRACTS

 

There are no material contracts to which the Company or any member of the Group is a party which contain information that the Independent Shareholders would reasonably require to make a properly informed assessment of how to vote.

 

7. SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

 

There has been no significant change in the trading or financial position of the Group since 31 December 2016, being the date of the end of the last financial period for which financial information for the Group has been published.

 

 

8. DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION

 

Copies of the following documents will be available for inspection at the Company's principal place of business at St Mary's Court, The Broadway, Amersham HP7 0UT during normal business hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excepted) up to and including the date of the General Meeting:

 

(a) the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company;

(b) the Annual Report of the Company for the year ending 31 December 2016;

(c) irrevocable undertaking by SZWB to vote in favour of the Resolution;

(d) deed of waiver from Kudrow of interest on Kudrow Loans; and

(e) this Circular.

 

In addition this Circular will be published in electronic form and be available on the Company's website www.worldtradesystemsplc.com.

 

Dated 18 July 2017

 

 

 

PART III

 

DEFINITIONS

 

The following definitions apply throughout this Circular unless the context requires otherwise:

 

Board

the board of directors of the Company whose names are set out on page 4 of this Circular out on page 4 of this Circular

Company

World Trade Systems plc incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 01698076 with registered number 01698076

CREST

the relevant system (as defined in the CREST Regulations in respect of which Euroclear is the operator (as defined in the CREST Regulations) in accordance with which securities may be held in uncertificated form

CREST Regulations

the Uncertified Securities Regulations 2005, as amended

Euroclear

Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited (formerly Crestco Limited) the operator of CREST

Financial Conduct Authority

or FCA

the UK Financial Conduct Authority

 

FSMA

 

the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended, and all regulations promulgated thereunder, from time to time

Form of Proxy

the form of proxy accompanying this Circular for use by Shareholders at the General Meeting

General Meeting

the general meeting of the Company convened for 4 August 2017, or any adjournment thereof, to vote on the Resolution notice of which is set out at the end of this Circular

Group

the Company, WTS China and all other subsidiary undertakings of the Company from time to time

Independent Shareholders

the Shareholders other than Kudrow and any of its associates as defined under the Listing Rules

Kudrow

Kudrow Finance Limited a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on 30 November, 1999 with L.B.C. number 354976

Kudrow Loans

the unsecured loans made by Kudrow to the Company as more particularly described in Part II of this Circular of which there was £860,363 outstanding as at the LPD

LPD

17 July 2017 being the latest practicable date before the date of this Circular

London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange plc

Listing Rules

the listing rules made by the FCA under section 73A of FSMA

Notice of General Meeting or Notice

the notice of the General Meeting set out at the end of this Circular

 

Ordinary Shares

the ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital of the Company

Ratification

the approval by the Independent Shareholders, of Kudrow making the Kudrow Loans by the passing of the Resolution

Related Party

a related party as such term is defined in LR11.1.4R of the Listing Rules

Resolution

the resolution set out in the Notice of General Meeting

Shareholders

the holders of Ordinary Shares from time to time, and Shareholder shall be construed accordingly

SZWB

Suzhou Weibao Investment Co., Limited

UKLA

UK Listing Authority

WTS China

Simao (Suzhou) Biotechnology Co., Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company

 

 

PART IV

 

DETAILS OF THE KUDROW LOANS

 

Set out in the below table are the details of the dates of the commencement of each Related Party Loan and the amount of the loan.

 

In June 2004 the Company entered into an unsecured interest free loan facility with Kudrow for £10,000 to support its ongoing operations. Since that time, Kudrow has continued to provide financial support to the Company by way extending existing loans or entering into new unsecured loans facilities. From February 2010, the terms of the loans were amended whereby the outstanding amount accrued interest at 5 per cent. and subsequently 3 per cent. per annum.

 

Kudrow sourced the funds for the Kudrow Loans from Glory Time Holdings Inc., a company under the control of Antares Cheng, who was until 23 June 2017, a non-executive director of the Company.

 

The Kudrow Loans have accrued interest of approximately £241,000. On 17 July 2017 Kudrow issued a Deed of Waiver agreeing to waive all of the accrued interest.

 

 

Commencement of Related Party Loans

Loan Amount (£)

Total Loan Amount (£)

30 June 2004

10,000

10,000

26 July 2004

40,000

50,000

24 September 2004

55,000

105,000

29 June 2005

55,000

160,000

2 June 2007

100,000

260,000

12 February 2010

200,000

460,000

30 January 2011

25,000

485,000

20 January 2012

60,800

545,800

31 August 2012

60,000

605,800

20 December 2012

55,000

660,800

31 December 2013

63,000

723,800

31 December 2015

71,563

795,363

20 June 2016

65,000*

860,363

* £65,000 loan comprises £5,000 loan granted to pay legal fees and £60,000 loan which was originally made to the Company in May 2006 by World Capital Systems Limited and was not a Related Party Transaction at the time. However, Kudrow has assumed the loan during the past year and so it is recorded as a Related Party Transaction in this Schedule.

 

 

 

 

 

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING

 

World Trade Systems plc

(Incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 01698076)

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a general meeting (the General Meeting) of World Trade Systems plc (the Company) will be held at St Mary's Court, The Broadway, Amersham, HP7 0UT on 4 August 2017 at 11.00 a.m. for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following resolution which will be proposed as an ordinary resolution:

 

 

RESOLUTION

 

1. THAT the loans made by Kudrow Finance Limited (which as at 17 July 2017 is the registered holder of 2,596,139 ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital of the Company constituting approximately 29.66 per cent. of the issued capital of the Company) to the Company (of which £860,363 remains outstanding as at the date hereof) which were when made related party transactions (as defined in Listing Rule 11.1.5R) be ratified and approved.

 

 

By order of the Board Registered Office

Robert Lee Tricor Street

Company Secretary 4th Floor

18 July 2017 50 Mark Lane

London EC3R 7QR

 

 

 

NOTES TO THE NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING

 

Entitlement to attend and vote

 

1. Only those shareholders registered in the Company's register of members at:

 

11.00 a.m. on 2 August 2017; or,

if this meeting is adjourned, at 11.00 a.m. on the day two days prior to the adjourned meeting,

shall be entitled to attend, speak and vote at the meeting. Changes to the register of members after the relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.

 

Appointment of proxies

 

2. If you are a shareholder who is entitled to attend and vote at the meeting, you are entitled to appoint the chairman or any other person to exercise all or any of your rights to attend, speak and vote at the meeting. A proxy does not need to be a shareholder of the Company but must attend the meeting to represent you. You can only appoint a proxy using the procedures set out in these notes and the notes to the proxy form. A proxy form is attached to this email. If you have any further questions about obtaining a proxy form please email info@wts-shareholders.com or by telephone on contact on +44(0) 1494 590 515.

 

3. If you hold ordinary shares in CREST, you may appoint proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service at www.euroclear.com. The Receiving Agents CREST ID is 7RA11 and votes must be received no later than 11:00 hours on 1 Aug 2017.

 

 

4. You may appoint more than one proxy provided each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by that shareholder. To appoint more than one proxy, please contact Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT by post or email info@wts-shareholders.com. You will need to state clearly on each proxy form the number of shares in relation to which the proxy is appointed. Failure to specify the number of shares to which each proxy appointment relates or specifying a number in excess of those held by the shareholder will result in the proxy appointment being invalid. If you wish your proxy to speak on your behalf at the meeting you will need to appoint your own choice of proxy (not the chairman) and give your instructions directly to them.

 

5. The notes to the proxy form explain how to direct your proxy how to vote on each resolution or withhold their vote.

 

6. A vote withheld is not a vote in law, which means that the vote will not be counted in the calculation of votes for or against the resolution. If no voting indication is given, your proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his or her discretion. Your proxy will vote (or abstain from voting) as he or she thinks fit in relation to any other matter which is put before the meeting.

 

7. To appoint a proxy using the proxy form, the form must be completed using one of the following methods;

· Printing, completing, posting or delivering to Blackstone Legal Ltd, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT

· or printing, completing, scanning and emailing to info@wts-shareholders.com;

· or use the online form only if you intend to give the Chairman the proxy for all your shares to vote for one of the following: "for", "against" or "withheld" (SurveyMonkey link has been sent via email to shareholders using their unique shareholder log-in on 18 July 2017)

· or, if you hold ordinary shares in CREST, submitting your proxies electronically by using the your investor code in the CREST electronic proxy appointment service at www.euroclear.com. The Receiving Agents CREST ID is 7RA11.

In any event, the Form of Proxy must be received no later than 11am on 2 August 2017. Completion and return of the Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the General Meeting and voting in person should you so wish.

In the case of a shareholder which is a company, the proxy form must be executed under its common seal or signed on its behalf by an officer of the company or an attorney for the company.

 

Any power of attorney or any other authority under which the proxy form is signed (or a duly certified copy of such power or authority) must be included with the proxy form.

 

8. If you have not received a proxy form and believe that you should have one, or if you require additional proxy forms, please contact Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT by post, email info@wts-shareholders.com or telephone +44(0)1494590515.

 

 

Appointment of proxy by joint member

 

9. In the case of joint holders, where more than one of the joint holders completes a proxy appointment, only the appointment submitted by the most senior holder will be accepted. Seniority is determined by the order in which the names of the joint holders appear in the Company's register of members in respect of the joint holding (the first-named being the most senior).

 

 Changing proxy instructions

 

10. Shareholders may change proxy instructions by submitting a new proxy appointment using the methods set out above. Note that the cut-off time for receipt of proxy appointments also apply in relation to amended instructions; any amended proxy appointment received after the relevant cut-off time will be disregarded.

 

11. Where you have appointed a proxy using the hard-copy proxy form and would like to change the instructions using another hard-copy proxy form, please print and send a revised proxy form to Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT .

 

If you submit more than one valid proxy appointment, the appointment received last before the latest time for the receipt of proxies will take precedence.

 

Termination of proxy appointment

 

12. A shareholder may change a proxy instruction but to do so you will need to inform the Company in writing by either:

 

Sending a signed hard-copy notice clearly stating your intention to revoke your proxy appointment to Blackstone Legal Ltd, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT . In the case of a shareholder which is a company, the revocation notice must be executed under its common seal or signed on its behalf by an officer of the company or an attorney for the company. Any power of attorney or any other authority under which the revocation notice is signed (or a duly certified copy of such power or authority) must be included with the revocation notice or

Sending an email to World Trade Systems PLC at info@wts-shareholders.com

In either case, the revocation notice must be received no later than 11.00 a.m. on 2 August 2017.

 

If you attempt to revoke your proxy appointment but the revocation is received after the time specified, your original proxy appointment will remain valid unless you attend the meeting and vote in person.

 

Appointment of a proxy does not preclude you from attending the meeting and voting in person. If you have appointed a proxy and attend the Meeting in person, your proxy appointment will automatically be terminated.

 

Corporate representatives

 

13. A corporation which is a shareholder can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise, on its behalf, all its powers as a shareholder provided that no more than one corporate representative exercises powers over the same share. The person appointed as the corporate representative must bring the letter of appointment to the meeting.

 

 

Questions at the meeting

 

14. Any member attending the meeting has the right to ask questions in accordance with section 319A of the Companies Act 2006. The Company must answer any question you ask relating to the business being dealt with at the meeting unless:

 

Answering the question would interfere unduly with the preparation for the meeting or involve the disclosure of confidential information.

The answer has already been given on a website in the form of an answer to a question.

It is undesirable in the interests of the Company or the good order of the meeting that the question be answered.

Shareholders' requisition rights

15. Under section 338 of the Companies Act 2006, a shareholder or shareholders meeting the threshold requirements, may, subject to conditions, require the Company to give to shareholders notice of a resolution which may properly be moved and is intended to be moved at that meeting provided that the requirements of that section are met and provided that the request is received by the Company not later than six weeks before the meeting, or if later the time at which notice is given of the meeting.

 

Submission of hard copy and electronic requests and authentication requirements

 

16. Where a shareholder or shareholders wish to request the Company to circulate a resolution to be proposed at the meeting (see note 14), such request must be made by sending a hard copy request, signed by you, stating your full name and address to Blackstone Legal Limited, The Old Courthouse, Hughenden Rd, High Wycombe HP13 5DT; or by email to World Trade Systems plc at info@wts-shareholders.com. Please state 'EGM' in the subject line of the email.

Voting

 

17. Voting on all resolutions will be conducted on a show of hands unless a poll is demanded in accordance with the Company's articles of association.

 

18. Blackstone Legal Limited has at the request of the Company agreed to attend the meeting and as soon as practicable following the meeting will count all the votes and immediately inform the Company of the result.

 

19. As soon as practicable following the meeting, the results of the voting will be announced via a regulatory information service and also placed on the Company's website.

 

Documents available for inspection

 

20. Copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, the Annual Report of the Company for the year ending 31 December 2016, the irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the Resolution, the deed of waiver given by Kudrow Finance Limited and this Circular are available for inspection at the Company's registered office during normal business hours and at the place of the meeting from at least 15 minutes prior to the meeting until the end of the meeting.

 

Communication

 

21. Except as provided above, shareholders who have general queries about the meeting should use the following means of communication (no other methods of communication will be accepted):

 

Contact World Trade Systems plc by email on info@wts-shareholders.com or telephone +44(0)1494590515.

 

 

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
CIRKMGMNVRNGNZM
12
Date   Source Headline
20th Feb 202012:43 pmRNSCancellation of Listing
23rd Jul 20194:38 pmRNSClarification
4th Mar 20194:43 pmRNSAcquiring 28.56 pct in World Trade Systems plc
28th Sep 201812:54 pmRNSHalf-year Report
9th Jul 20189:51 amRNS2018 AGM Results
8th Jun 20181:31 pmRNSNotice of AGM
15th May 20182:51 pmRNSMOU and Update on IBD
4th May 201811:26 amRNSDirector Resignation
9th Apr 20188:25 amRNS2017 Annual Financial Report
12th Mar 201812:05 pmRNSMARCH UPDATE
17th Jan 201812:26 pmRNSUpdate on listing, new business and address
27th Dec 20177:00 amRNSUpdate on new business activity
7th Aug 20177:00 amRNS4 August 2017 GM results
2nd Aug 20172:10 pmRNSHalf-year Report
2nd Aug 20171:48 pmRNSHalf-year Report
18th Jul 20176:03 pmRNSCircular
18th Jul 20175:55 pmRNSNOTICE OF CIRCULAR AND DEED OF WAIVER
12th Jul 20175:54 pmRNSARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION adopted on 29th June 2017
30th Jun 201710:47 amRNSAGM Statement
26th Jun 201710:03 amRNSDirectorate Resignation
2nd Jun 20177:00 amRNSNotice of AGM
25th May 20177:00 amRNSR&D and market distribution co-operation
22nd May 20177:00 amRNSR&D, Product Diversification
8th May 20177:00 amRNSDirectorate Change
25th Apr 20176:29 pmRNSFinal Results 2016
3rd Apr 20175:42 pmRNSR&D, Product Diversification
20th Dec 20164:32 pmRNSStatement re Interim Accounts
16th Nov 201612:04 pmRNSStatus Update - Replacement
15th Nov 20163:21 pmRNSMiscellaneous - Status Update
28th Oct 20165:33 pmRNSChange of Secretary and Registered Office
20th Oct 20161:00 pmRNSAGM Statement
22nd Aug 201610:08 amRNSCorrection to Chairman's letter to Shareholders
22nd Aug 201610:00 amRNSCorrection to Notice of GM
17th Aug 20163:36 pmRNSChairman's letter to shareholders - 2016 AGM
17th Aug 20163:14 pmRNSNotice of AGM
16th Aug 20165:15 pmRNSAnnual Financial Report
18th May 20167:00 amRNSStatus Update
15th Feb 20164:45 pmRNSAnnouncement of New Business Activity
21st May 20155:54 pmRNSResult of AGM
21st May 20153:34 pmRNSAnnual Financial Report
11th Apr 20134:29 pmRNSResult of AGM
4th Feb 201310:58 amRNSFinal Results
25th Jul 201211:57 amRNSHalf Yearly Report
7th Mar 20124:32 pmRNSAGM Statement
3rd Feb 20123:00 pmRNSAnnual Financial Report
21st Mar 20113:11 pmRNSResult of AGM
24th Jan 201110:06 amRNSAnnual Financial Report
5th Aug 20102:45 pmRNSStatement re. Suspension
29th Jun 20103:12 pmRNSResult of AGM
25th Jun 201010:48 amRNSHalf Yearly Report
12

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