The Times, 8 September 2026, Retail investors push back against virtual annual meetings

The Times reports that retail shareholder groups, including ShareSoc, are pushing back against government proposals that would allow annual general meetings to be held virtually where there is shareholder consent.

Mark Northway, a director of ShareSoc, argued that in-person AGMs are needed “to look directors in the eyes and hold them to account”, without the “stage management” of virtual-only meetings. ShareSoc is concerned that relying on “shareholder consent” is an insufficient safeguard, as it risks failing to account for the voting power of institutional shareholders over retail investors.

Lord Lee of Trafford, a Liberal Democrat peer and patron of ShareSoc, similarly questioned individual shareholders’ ability to hold directors to account through online-only AGMs, arguing that “the way forward is hybrid AGMs, with a choice of either virtual or physical attendance.”

The proposals form part of the government’s wider consultation on corporate reporting reform, launched on 8 September 2026 by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

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