If you own shares in a company, you might be wondering what sort of rights you will receive. For instance, does buying a single share in Tesco mean you can cut the queue to pay for your groceries? This article will explain the general rights shareholders have and how they can enforce these rights in the event of a dispute.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In general, there is a special contract between shareholders and the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Your company constitution will set out the rights a company owes its shareholders. Likewise, you ca find your company constitution within the articles of association. Since these articles can vary, shareholders in different companies may have different rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Common shareholder rights specified in the articles include the right to:<\/p>\n
Importantly, to fully understand the nature of your rights as a shareholder, you must inspect your company\u2019s articles of association. You also have a right to inspect the articles of association.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The law also provides certain rights that a company cannot modify or remove, even if the articles attempt to do so. One common example is the right of shareholders to remove a director.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other examples include the right to:<\/p>\n
Importantly, your rights as a shareholder will depend on which class of shares you own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Different classes of shares will entitle the shareholder to different rights. For instance, ordinary shares generally entitle the shareholder to:<\/p>\n
A company may also issue a separate class of shares, such as preference shares. These may entitle preference shareholders to a dividend payment before the ordinary shareholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Notably, a company must treat shareholders of the same class equally. Therefore, if the company fails to pay you a dividend but pays all other shareholders holding the same class of shares, you can bring a claim against the company to enforce your rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n