Hearts & Minds: Delivering shareholder value? The challenge of the virtual AGM

There is an air of inevitability about virtual AGMs becoming the norm. It has happened, post-Covid, in other fields; it is going to happen, best to embrace it.

The arguments for are strong. Remote avoids protests, witness this week’s disruption at a major bank meeting; they save money and time for the company and shareholders; they are more inclusive since those based faraway can participate. Against is they are anti-democratic, small shareholders have as much right to challenge directors as institutions; it is harder to judge the mood among thousands of faces and names on a screen than right there, in a hall; management and investors lack a valuable physical connection.

But, like so many things, what was rare pre-pandemic has gained traction, post-outbreak. Tech improvements have also made a difference. There are plenty who view the shift with regret, if not anger. For them, the AGM was an annual jolly, a day out; an opportunity to stick it to the bosses, to meet them in person and put them right about something that may seem trivial but believe you me is not; and to enjoy free sandwiches.

The media loved them too. They provided good copy, seeing the high-ups at the clothing chain reduced by someone complaining about the lack of underwear in their size – such interventions occurred and frequently. As did Cedric the Pig. The 20-stone beast was paraded by British Gas shareholders in protest at chief Cedric Brown's pay. Sheer joy – for the journalists and public.

There is, though, an age divide. It is those with longer memories who tend to be arguing for their preservation; for younger folk, the prospect of traipsing across the country to sit in a stuffy room listening to detail that is available online is anathema. As for the buffet, a carb-laden roll does not exactly cut it. For those who cite Cedric, the animal enjoyed his moment of fame in 1995. Fashion house Jimmy Choo thought it was ahead of the pack by holding a digital AGM in 2016. Nine years later, we’re still debating whether they are a good idea or not.

Of course they are. Hybrid may provide a half-way solution but that is all it is. Change is with us. For those who decry absence of involvement and inability to holler, social media and investor forums more than plug the gap.

It’s hard to make a case for what, increasingly, is an anachronism.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.