Optare plc Share Information
 

As of 31 December 2017 Capita Asset Services ceased to provide Matched Bargain Services, in response Optare plc have appointed Asset Match to provide a market platform for buying or selling Optare plc shares.

Should you wish to buy or sell Optare plc shares, please register with Asset Match at www.assetmatch.com

Asset Match provides a market platform for existing Optare plc shareholders to partially or fully realise the value of their share capital and also facilitates the purchase of Optare plc shares for new investors.

In order to trade shares, you will need to use a stockbroker. If you already have a stockbroker you can continue to trade shares through them. However, many people who trade shares on Asset Match do so through The Share Centre, one of the UK’s leading retail stockbrokers. They will be able to help you buy, sell and monitor the value of your shares and keep up to date on Company announcements.

The Asset Match website www.assetmatch.com shows bids to buy shares and offers to sell, with the share price set at each monthly auction by calculating the single price at which sell side supply and buy side demand meet.

Click here to view the Optare plc Asset Match Company Profile or call
 +44 207 248 2788

---

Corporate Governance

The Directors recognise the importance of sound corporate governance. They intend to comply with the main provisions of the Combined Code wherever practicable, given the company’s size and the constitution of the Board.

The Directors have established an audit committee and a remuneration committee.

The remuneration committee will determine the terms and conditions of service, including the remuneration and grant of options to executive Directors.

Non-Executive Chairman, John Fickling, is the chairman of the remuneration committee and Non-Executive Director, Venkat Venkatesan, is a member of the remuneration committee.

The audit committee has primary responsibility for monitoring the quality of internal financial controls and ensuring that the financial performance of the company is properly measured and reported on, and for reviewing reports from the company’s auditors relating to accounting and internal controls.

Non-Executive Director, Gopal Mahadevan, is the chairman of the audit committee and Non-Executive Chairman, John Fickling, is a member of the audit committee.

---

Takeover Regulations

Optare plc is subject to the UK City Code on Takeover & Mergers.

---

Company Directors

John Fickling
(Independent Non-executive Chairman)
John is a qualified engineer. He has over 25 years’ experience in the transport industry as a former major shareholder and executive director of Northumbria Buses and Kentish Bus, developing the latter into one of the largest privately owned London bus companies for Transport for London. He was chief executive of Sunderland AFC for eleven years, where he oversaw the building of the Stadium of Light and the new training academy and had significant involvement in its full stock market listing in the late 1990s. John is very well known across the industry and has a keen interest in green issues in public transport. He is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.

Steven Norris
(Independent Non-executive Deputy Chairman)
Steven started his career in the engineering and motor industries, entering into politics in 1977, when he was elected to Berkshire County Council. In 1983 he became the Member of Parliament for Oxford East and subsequently held various parliamentary positions until 1992, when he became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport and Minister for Transport in London. Steven was responsible for the Jubilee line extension, the largest extension of the London Underground network to date. Steven is widely known for his interest in public transport. He possesses a wealth of experience and is either currently, or has previously held roles as chairman of the National Cycling Strategy Board, director general of the Road Haulage Association, president of the Motorcycle Industry Association, a commissioner of the Independent Transport Commission, and a patron of the cyclists’ charity Sustrans and of the Campaign for Better Transport (UK) Charitable Trust. Steven holds an MA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford.

Gopal Mahadevan
(Non-executive Director)
Gopal is currently CFO of Ashok Leyland Ltd. Gopal is a chartered accountant and a company secretary with over 25 years’ experience in finance functions across a variety of industries. He started his career with the TTK Group and then moved to Sanmar Group, where he progressed to head of finance for their PVC business. He later joined Sify Limited to head mergers and acquisitions, legal and Nasdaq compliances, following which he joined Amara Raja Batteries as group CFO. Prior to his appointment at Ashok Leyland Ltd, Gopal was CFO of engineering company Thermax Limited. On his appointment as a Non-executive Director, Gopal became Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Venkatesan Venkataraman
(Non-executive Director)
Venkatesan is currently president of business development and strategy for Hinduja Automotive Limited, responsible for strategy, M&A and business development activities of the Hinduja Group’s automotive interests based in the UK. Starting as a graduate engineer at Ashok Leyland Ltd, he has over 30 years’ experience in industrial engineering, business and corporate planning functions. He led the Ashok Leyland Ltd negotiations for its initial stake and, subsequently, its increased stake in Optare plc.

Seshu Bhagavathula
(Non-Executive Director)
Seshu joined Ashok Leyland Ltd in 2016 as chief technology officer and spearheads the company’s global initiatives on research and new product development for commercial vehicles, buses and light commercial vehicles. Seshu is an experienced hand in the automotive industry, both in commercial and passenger vehicle segments, with his core areas of professional expertise being in research and development, innovation and strategic analysis.  Seshu holds a doctorate in highfrequency electronics and an advanced post-graduate diploma from the Space Sciences and Applications Centre.  Before joining Ashok Leyland Ltd, he was associated with Great Wall Motor Company in China, where he served as the vice president of research & development.  Prior to this, he had spent a significant part of his career with Daimler AG at multiple locations, where he was responsible for product development and integration of engineering processes. In addition, Seshu was a founding managing director of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Center in India between 1996 and 2000.