Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

General meeting definition

What does General meeting mean? A general meeting is a meeting of a company’s members (shareholders) to consider and vote on company business-for example approving significant transactions, changing the articles, or appointing or removing directors or auditors. In practice, it refers to any shareholders’ meeting other than the annual general meeting (AGM), and includes an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). The term is used in legislation and standard company practice. In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Companies Act 2006 provides the framework. Directors may call a general meeting at any time, and eligible members may requisition one; if the directors do not act,...

Member voting at UK company general meetings: entitlement, show of hands and polls, demanding a poll, thresholds for ordinary/special resolutions, and electronic confirmation duties for traded companies (CA 2006)

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Practice notes

Voting by a member

To approve a Shareholder Resolution, members must be asked to vote at a General meeting or, for a private company, by written resolution (see Practice Note: Member resolutions). The process for private companies to pass written resolutions is not dealt with in this note; see Practice Note: Written resolutions.

This note concerns voting by a member, rather than voting by proxies or corporate representatives. For further guidance, see Practice Notes: Appointing a proxy, Voting by proxy and Corporate representatives.

Resolutions are usually determined on a show of hands or by a poll. A company may choose to put all resolutions at a meeting to a poll as a matter of course, or decide that only particular resolutions will be polled. In specified circumstances, members may require that the poll procedure is used. See also — Voting on a poll and — Demanding a poll vote.

During the coronavirus pandemic, and because of restrictions on gatherings, the use of hybrid and even wholly virtual meetings increased. Companies are now much...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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