Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Show of hands definition

What does Show of hands mean? A show of hands is the in‑room method of deciding a resolution at a company general meeting: the chair counts the hands of those present and entitled to vote. It is a descriptive company law term reflected in the Companies Act 2006 (UK) and the Companies Act 2014 (Ireland) and commonly adopted by articles of association. Key features: - One person, one vote: each member present in person has one vote, irrespective of shareholding. - Proxies may vote on a show of hands. A proxy has one vote; where appointed by more than one member with differing instructions, statutory rules and the articles...

AGM chair’s script for UK companies: conducting business and show-of-hands voting, with poll procedures and standard resolutions

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate expert

Precedents

For the Annual General Meeting of [ Name of company ] scheduled for [ Date ] at [ venue ]

1 Introduction

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am [ insert name ], the Chair of [ insert name of company ]. The time is now [ insert the exact time ], which is [ just past ] the scheduled start of the Annual General Meeting of [ insert company name ].

2 Quorum

Having confirmed with the Company secretary/advisers/registrars, a quorum is present, and I therefore declare the meeting open.

3 Housekeeping

Before we begin, I would like to cover a few practical matters. Fire exits are located [ [ over there ] OR [ insert location ] ], and no fire drill is planned for this morning. May I ask everyone to ensure mobile phones are switched off. Thank you. [ [ You may wish to note that this meeting is being recorded so that those shareholders and interested parties who are unable to be here today can view it on the company’s website from tomorrow onwards ] ]...

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Jayne Meacham , FCG

Corporate Governance Professional/Company Secretary, Computershare Entity Solutions

Jayne MeachamA qualified Chartered Secretary and Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, Jayne is a seasoned governance professional providing company secretarial, governance and advisory support and solutions to clients at Computershare. Jayne has extensive experience of listed companies, both in-house and client-facing. Prior to joining Computershare, Jayne was Company Secretary at FTSE-250 listed Auction Technology Group plc. Prior to that she worked in professional services for both MUFG and Vistra, as well as having numerous in-house roles over the years at St. James’s Place, Zurich, Lloyds Banking Group and SEGRO. Jayne was a winner in the Technical Expert category of the 2025 Governance HOT 100. ComputershareComputershare is a global market leader in share registration, shareholder management, corporate trust, employee equity plan management, investor engagement and global entity management and corporate governance services. We leverage our expertise and experience in financial services, technology development and...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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