BEIS and FRC released further updates on how companies can hold meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By James Inness, Anna Ngo, and Connor Cahalane

On 14 May 2020, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) released a second Q&A in relation to proposed legislative measures to assist companies in holding their annual general meetings (AGMs) in light of the COVID-19 restrictions. This Q&A follows a 28 March announcement from Alok Sharma, the Secretary of State for BEIS, stating that the government would bring forward legislation as soon as possible to assist companies facing difficulty meeting statutory obligations to hold AGMs because of COVID-19 restrictions. This latest Q&A is to be read in conjunction with the first joint BEIS/FRC Q&A published on 17 April.