10th Nov 2022 13:45
(Alliance News) - Quilter PLC said on Thursday it had no intention to make political donations and had not done so since it listed in London and Johannesburg in 2018.
The London-based wealth manager said a resolution tabled at its annual general meeting in May sought authorisation for political donations or expenditure. This resolution passed with the requisite majority of votes. But 23% of the votes cast were against it.
It said the political donations resolution has passed with more than an 80% majority at the its annual general meetings in 2020 and 2021.
However, in 2022 there was a significant difference in voting between the South African and UK shareholders, with 63.77% and 99.94% support respectively.
The group said it sought such authority as a precautionary measure to ensure that it did not inadvertently breach UK company law, given the breadth of the applicable provisions.
Quilter said it had continued to directly engage with its largest South African shareholders on the political donations resolution to further understand their views.
"We continue to recognise that in a current South African governance context, any linkage between business and politics is sensitive," it said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it would continue to explain the reasons why it believed this resolution was an important protection for the company in the notice of AGM.
Quilter shares were down 0.9% to 99.14 pence on Thursday in London. But they were up slightly 0.3% in Johannesburg at ZAR20.00.
By Artwell Dlamini; [email protected]
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