Don’t hide in York! Don’t use hybrid AGMs to hide from difficult questions.
The announcement that Aviva plc will hold its 2026 Annual General Meeting at its regional office in York (Wellington Row) on 6 May is, on the surface, framed as an act of regional inclusion. To me, however, it feels increasingly like a tactical retreat.
For years, the Aviva AGM was a hallmark of the UK corporate calendar. Held in London, it regularly attracted over 600 shareholders. It was a forum for genuine accountability, where the board was forced to look the company’s owners in the eye. By shifting the venue to a regional corporate office with limited capacity and difficult travel links for most shareholders, Aviva is, in my view, effectively hollowing out the physical meeting in favour of a managed digital experience.
The Safety Excuse: A Failure of Chairmanship
It is often whispered in City circles that the move away from London was a reaction to the unacceptable abuse faced by CEO Amanda Blanc at the 2022 AGM. Whilst I utterly condemn such behaviour, using it as a justification to relocate the meeting is the wrong answer to a real problem.
The solution to a rowdy or disrespectful room is not to move the room to a different post code; it is a strong chair. In recent years, we have seen a trend of weak chairing — often by Chairs who seem unwilling or unable to use their substantial legal powers to maintain decorum.
A Chair has the authority to rule questions out of order, set strict time limits, and eject those who breach the peace. Moving the meeting to York suggests a preference for avoidance over leadership.
The Pendulum Has Swung Too Far
We do need to address the hijacking of the AGM by pressure groups. These stakeholders — who often acquire a nominal number of shares purely to secure a podium — now too frequently dominate AGM Q&A sessions. While their right to speak is a component of democracy, the pendulum has swung so far that the concerns of the majority shareholder base (dividends, long-term strategy, and capital allocation) are often squeezed into a few minutes of the meeting.
A Proposal for Higher-Quality Debate
To restore the AGM as a high-value event, I suggest a more structured approach to the Q&A, which I believe Aviva should adopt for its York meeting:
- Pre-Submission: Shareholders should be encouraged to submit the substance of their questions in advance.
- Prioritisation: The Chair should use these submissions to ensure that key strategic and financial questions — those relevant to the majority of long-term shareholders — are addressed first.
- Tiered Q&A: Once the priority issues have been thoroughly debated, the floor should then open to wider stakeholder concerns.
This will ensure that shareholders can challenge and hold directors to account, and that minority stakeholder concerns do not come at the expense of the AGM substance.
My Message to Aviva
I call on George Culmer and the Aviva board to recognise that a hybrid meeting in a regional office is a poor substitute for a centrally located, well-attended hub of accountability.
I urge the Chair to exercise firm control over the 2026 proceedings, ensuring that the voice of the long-term investor is not silenced by distance or by professional activists.
Shareholders: If you are unable to travel to York, I encourage you to use the electronic facility to its fullest — but do not let the digital barrier stop you from demanding answers on the issues that matter to your capital.
Background
https://www.sharesoc.org/agm-reports/aviva-av-agm-report-2016/
https://www.sharesoc.org/agm-reports/aviva-agm-report-av/
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-10830761/Calls-ban-sexist-Avia-shareholders-life-Amanda-Blanc-abuse.html
https://www.sharesoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AVIVA-Open-Letter-re-Remuneration-questions-12-Jan-2020-.pdf
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-9535371/Aviva-faces-investor-revolt-preference-shares-scandal.html
Cliff Weight, ShareSoc member. Cliff is a member of the ShareSoc Education Committee and Policy Committee
The author holds shares in Aviva
Aviva AGM – Companies should engage positively with shareholders! 
The blog omitted to say the AGM in York starts at 9am, contrary to ShareSoc guidance for AGMs.
I have now submitted the following question to AVIVA.
To aviva.shareholders@aviva.com
Please pass a copy of this email and question to George Culmer, Chair and Susan Adams, General Counsel and Company Secretary.
I am a long term shareholder and frequent attender at the Aviva AGM. I have stood up and asked questions at previous AGMs. I am a member of ShareSoc, the Individual Shareholders Society.
How many people have attended the AGM each year since 2016, when I recall around 600 attended?
How many of these attended in person and how many virtually?
Do you collect data on how many institutional investors, individual shareholders, employees and former employees attend the AGM? If so, can you share this?
I am concerned about the AGM, framed as an act of regional inclusion, feels increasingly like a tactical retreat from accountability and having to answer difficult questions. It starts at 9am, making travel from London impossible, without an overnight stay.
WIll the regional rotation permit next year’s AGM to be in London starting at 11am or 2pm?
I sent you on 9th April a paper with my concerns, and hope you can provide a substantive answer at the AGM.
Cliff Weight
Aviva Shareholder
PS I attach my paper on the issues, which has been published by ShareSoc. https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/general-news/aviva-agm-companies-should-engage-positively-with-shareholders/
May I add a counter point. I know a significant part of the population live within London area and like things to be in London. But this (Aviva) shareholder is 4 hours from London, and quite close to York, so appreciates the possibility of a York based AGM. These days, with hybrid meetings, what does it matter where the meeting is held. Also, on a fast train, York is 1h46m from Kings Cross.
The thing that *did* irritate me about the AGM was the 9am start (6 May 2026 AGM). Really? Getting to York for a 9am start does smack of not wanting anyone there.
No issue with regional AGMs (in fact they are to be applauded if they reflect the geographic spread of a company’s operations).
In any event I would expect to see a major city location once wevry two or three years.
Fully agree about the timing. Regional meetings should really be scheduled to allow the majority of shareholders to attend without an obligatory overnight stay.