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Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-264105
Prospectus Supplement
(To prospectus dated April 4, 2022)
Up to $250,000,000
American Depositary Shares Representing Ordinary Shares

We have entered into a certain Open Market Sale AgreementSM, or Sales Agreement, with Jefferies LLC, or Jefferies, relating to the sale of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, each ADS representing one ordinary share of nominal value £0.002 each, of Immunocore Holdings plc, offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell ADSs having an aggregate offering price of up to $250,000,000 from time to time through Jefferies, acting as sales agent.
Our ADSs representing our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “IMCR.” On September 7, 2022, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $49.98 per ADS. Sales of our ADSs, if any, under this prospectus supplement may be made in sales deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Jefferies is not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of securities, but will act as sales agent on a best efforts basis and use commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all ADSs requested to be sold by us, consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between us and Jefferies. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.
Jefferies will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of up to 3.0% of the gross sales price per ADS sold under the Sales Agreement. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-26 of this prospectus supplement for additional information regarding the compensation to be paid to Jefferies. In connection with the sale of the ADSs on our behalf, Jefferies will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of Jefferies will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to Jefferies with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
Investing in our ADSs involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-11 of this prospectus supplement and on page 8 of the accompanying prospectus, as well as our other filings that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Jefferies
Prospectus Supplement dated September 9, 2022

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Prospectus Supplement
Prospectus
We and Jefferies have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different than or inconsistent with the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering. We and Jefferies take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents, regardless of the time of delivery of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by

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reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents to which we have referred you in the sections of this prospectus supplement entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. The prospectus supplement amends and supplements the information contained in the prospectus filed as part of our automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-264105), or the Registration Statement, which became effective when filed on April 4, 2022. This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, which describes the terms of this offering of ADSs and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus. The second part, the accompanying prospectus dated April 4, 2022, including the documents incorporated by reference therein, provides more general information.
Generally, when we refer to this prospectus, we are referring to both parts of this document combined. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or in any document incorporated by reference that was filed with the SEC before the date of this prospectus supplement, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date (for example, a document incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus) the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in this prospectus supplement, the terms “Immunocore,” “the Company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Immunocore Holdings plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.
“Immunocore” and “KIMMTRAK” are registered trademarks of Immunocore. All other trademarks and registered trademarks contained in this prospectus supplement are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks, tradenames and service marks referred to in this prospectus supplement (including the documents incorporated by reference) appear without the ®, ™ and SM symbols, but the absence of those symbols is not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert our rights or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights to these trademarks, tradenames and service marks to the fullest extent under applicable law.
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain information about us, this offering and selected information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement. This summary is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. For a more complete understanding of our company and this offering, you should read and consider carefully the more detailed information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” of this prospectus supplement, in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022 and in our other filings that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as well as the information included in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering.
Company Overview
We are a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of T cell receptor, or TCR, bispecific immunotherapies called ImmTAX - Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against X disease - designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases. Leveraging our proprietary, flexible, off-the-shelf ImmTAX platform, we are developing a deep pipeline in multiple therapeutic areas, including five clinical stage programs in oncology and infectious disease, advanced pre-clinical programs in autoimmune disease and multiple earlier pre-clinical programs. Our lead product, KIMMTRAK, is a first-in-class TCR therapeutic approved for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma, or mUM, in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with commercial launches underway in the United States and Germany, and paid access in France.
We have three clinical stage programs within our ImmTAC (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Cancer) platform, including KIMMTRAK. Our clinical programs are being conducted with patients with a broad range of cancers including melanoma, lung, gastric, head and neck and ovarian, among others. As of August 31, 2022, we have dosed over 800 cancer patients with our ImmTAX product candidates, which we believe is the largest clinical data set of any bispecific in a solid tumor and any TCR therapeutic. Our ImmTAX product candidates have the potential to address other tumor types with larger addressable patient bispecific therapeutic populations and significant unmet need, and we are studying the application of our ImmTAX platform to infectious diseases and autoimmune conditions.
Our Lead Product - KIMMTRAK
On January 26, 2022, we announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or mUM. KIMMTRAK is the first TCR therapeutic and first bispecific T cell engager to receive approval from the FDA to treat a solid tumor, and the first and only therapy for the treatment of unresectable or mUM to be approved by the FDA.
On April 1, 2022, the European Commission, or EC, approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp) for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM. With EC approval, KIMMTRAK has received marketing authorization in all European Union member states, and following completion of related national procedures, will also be eligible for sale in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, Health Canada, and Australia’s Department of Health Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, have each approved KIMMTRAK for the treatment of unresectable or mUM.
KIMMTRAK is manufactured at facilities located in Denmark and Germany. We are supporting the appropriate use of KIMMTRAK in the United States, Germany and France through a fit-for-purpose commercial team that includes medical, sales, and value access team members. We utilize a hybrid model that includes in-house and contracted resources in the United States and Europe. KIMMTRAK commercial supply was made available in the United States and Germany shortly after regulatory approval for the treatment of patients with unresectable or mUM. We also launched a payer program called KIMMTRAKConnect with the goal to help ensure patients in the United States have access to KIMMTRAK, including financial assistance, personalized support and education, and site of care coordination for eligible patients. In May, the first patient in Germany was infused with KIMMTRAK, less than one week from price listing, and the Company successfully transitioned all (more than 50) patients from the early access program, or EAP, in Germany onto commercial supply. Our commercial
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efforts outside the United States are supported by Medison Pharma Ltd. pursuant to an exclusive multi-regional agreement to help seek regulatory authorization and commercialize KIMMTRAK in Canada, 20 markets across Central Eastern Europe and Israel.
Our ImmTAX Platform and ImmTAX Bispecific Therapeutics
Unlike antibody targeted immunotherapies that have a relatively small target pool, our approach relies on the power of TCRs, which are naturally occurring receptors found on the surface of T cells that have the ability to target nearly all of the human proteome. Natural TCRs give T cells the ability to scan for abnormalities in nearly any cell in the body that are presented as protein fragments, or antigens, by human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, on the cell surface. Our ImmTAX platform builds upon these natural TCRs by engineering soluble targeted and high-affinity TCRs in order to develop off-the-shelf, bispecific therapeutics, which are able to precisely target a wide range of proteins uniquely expressed by unhealthy and abnormal cells that cannot be targeted by current antibody-based immunotherapies.
Our ImmTAX bispecific therapeutics couple the targeting power of these engineered TCRs on one end with the other end displaying pre-optimized effector functions, which have the ability to drive a desired immune response at the site of the disease. This combination is designed to provide us with significant flexibility as we are able to engineer and tailor our ImmTAX therapeutics to target proteins that are specific to the disease we are trying to treat and then modulate the corresponding immune response by either boosting or inhibiting the immune system.
Our Pipeline
We are currently leveraging our ImmTAX platform within three therapeutic areas: oncology, infectious disease and autoimmune disease. We have named each of these platforms according to their therapeutic area to distinguish the type of target recognized by the TCR targeting system and the selected effector function. We have five clinical stage programs as well as numerous pre-clinical programs. While our most advanced clinical programs are focused on developing treatments for oncology, we believe our ImmTAX platform is versatile, and will also allow us to develop therapeutics with significant advantages in the treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases. Our current pipeline is represented in the diagram below.

Our ImmTAC Platform (Oncology)
Within our ImmTAC platform, we have three clinical stage programs (including KIMMTRAK) and additional pre-clinical programs (two of which are shown in the diagram above), focusing on the treatment of solid tumors with high unmet medical needs.
Our ImmTAC programs include:
KIMMTRAK, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an HLA-A*02:01 gp100 antigen, is our first approved product. The FDA and the EC have approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) and (tebentafusp),
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respectively, for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM. KIMMTRAK demonstrated monotherapy activity and achieved the primary endpoint of superior overall survival in a randomized Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with previously untreated mUM against the investigator’s choice of treatment. The OS hazard ratio, or HR, in the intent-to-treat population favored tebentafusp, HR=0.51 (95% CI: 0.37, 0.71); p< 0.0001, over investigator’s choice (82% pembrolizumab; 12% ipilimumab; 6% dacarbazine). The UK’s MHRA, Health Canada, and the Australian Government Department of Health’s TGA have also each approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp) for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM.
Tebentafusp is also being developed for the treatment of advanced melanoma. In June, we presented updated data from our Phase 1b clinical trial in metastatic cutaneous melanoma, or mCM, in an oral presentation at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. In combination with checkpoint inhibitors in mCM, the maximum target doses of tebentafusp (68 mcg) plus durvalumab (20 mg/kg) were well tolerated. In mCM patients who progressed on prior anti-PD(L)1, tebentafusp with durvalumab continues to demonstrate promising overall survival (OS) (1-yr ~75%) compared to recent benchmarks (1-yr ~55%). After discussions with global melanoma experts and the FDA we plan to conduct a randomized Phase 2/3 clinical trial with and without an anti-PD(L)1 therapy. Our randomized trial will enroll patients with advanced melanoma that have progressed on an anti-PD1, received prior ipilimumab and, if applicable, received a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). We plan to start the randomization of the Phase 2/3 clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2022.
IMC-C103C, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an HLA-A*02:01 MAGE-A4 antigen, is currently being evaluated in a first-in-human, Phase 1/2 dose escalation clinical trial in patients with solid tumor cancers including non-small-cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, gastric, head and neck, ovarian and synovial sarcoma. In December 2021, we reported initial Phase 1 data from this trial at the European Society of Medical Oncology Immuno-Oncology Congress. IMC-C103C demonstrated a manageable safety profile and clinical activity with confirmed durable responses in ovarian cancer and a confirmed durable response in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We initiated an expansion arm in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma at 140 micrograms/week. We anticipate reporting additional data from the Phase 1 clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2022.
IMC-F106C, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an optimal HLA-A*02:01 PRAME antigen is currently being evaluated in a first-in-human, Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial in patients with multiple solid tumor cancers including NSCLC, SCLC, endometrial, ovarian, cutaneous melanoma, and breast cancers. The initial Phase 1 data from the dose escalation study of IMC-F106C, the first PRAME x CD3 ImmTAC bispecific protein, was presented orally at the European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO, Congress on September 9, 2022 in Paris, France. PRAME is overexpressed in many solid tumors including NSCLC, SCLC, endometrial, ovarian, melanoma and certain breast cancers.
Our ImmTAV Platform (Infectious Diseases)
Using our ImmTAV (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Virus) platform, we have advanced two programs into the clinical stage. Our ImmTAV product candidates are bispecific soluble TCR molecules featuring our ImmTAX TCR-based targeting system with high specificity for low-expression viral antigens, combined with the proprietary anti-CD3 effector module for T cell engagement and activation that has been evidenced by our clinical oncology pipeline. We are seeking to develop therapeutics that can provide a functional cure to chronic viral disease and are focusing initially on hepatitis B virus, or HBV, and human immunosuppression virus, or HIV.
Our ImmTAV programs include:
IMC-I109V, our ImmTAV molecule targeting a conserved HBV envelope antigen, is our most advanced ImmTAV program and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with chronic HBV who are non-cirrhotic, hepatitis B e-Antigen negative, and virally suppressed on chronic nucleot(s)ide analogue therapy. Our goal is to develop a functional cure for HBV. We reported initial data from our trial in June 2022, observing a transient decrease in the HBV surface antigen, as well as transient elevations in alanine transaminase, or ALT, and cytokines.
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IMC-M113V, our ImmTAV molecule targeting the HIV gag antigen bispecific TCR molecule, is expected to be evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for which we are currently enrolling patients. Our goal is to develop a functional cure for HIV. We announced the dosing of the first patient in July 2022, and we plan to expand the trial to Europe later in 2022.
Our ImmTAAI Platform (Autoimmune Diseases)
While our ImmTAC and ImmTAV platforms attempt to provide therapeutic benefit by driving an immune response against targeted cells, our ImmTAAI (Immune modulating monoclonal TCRs Against AutoImmune disease) platform leverages our ImmTAX platform to generate product candidates designed to provide precision targeted immunosuppression for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our ImmTAAI product candidates are designed to target organs, tissues or immune cells and deliver an immune suppressive effector function. We have optimized two immune system modulating effector functions to provide local T cell inhibition, which we believe may limit any adverse effects originating from systemic immune suppression. We believe we can use our ImmTAAI platform to develop a portfolio of product candidates to treat autoimmune indications with a high unmet medical need and provide significant benefit to patients.
Recent Developments
Financing Update
July 2022 PIPE Transaction; Extension of Anticipated Cash Runway
On July 20, 2022, we issued and sold 2,000,000 American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, representing ordinary shares of nominal value of £0.002 each and 1,733,333 non-voting ordinary shares of nominal value £0.002 each, to certain institutional accredited investors, or the Investors, at a purchase price of $37.50 per ADS/non-voting ordinary share as a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement with such Investors, generating gross proceeds of £116.7 million ($140.0 million) before deducting estimated offering expenses payable by us of £0.3 million ($0.4 million).
Following the receipt of PIPE proceeds, we believe we have cash and cash equivalents sufficient, together with anticipated revenue from sales of KIMMTRAK, to extend our anticipated cash runway and fund our operations through 2025.
Clinical Updates
Dosing of First Patient in Clinical Trial of IMC-M113V
On July 11, 2022, we announced the dosing of the first patient in our Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating IMC-M113V, our ImmTAV molecule targeting a HIV gag antigen bispecific TCR molecule. We expect to enroll further patients in this trial later in 2022.
Announcement of Trial Design for Planned Randomized Phase 2/3 Trial of Tebantafusp in Advanced Melanoma
On August 20, 2022, we announced our plans for evaluating tebentafusp in a randomized Phase 2/3 clinical trial in patients with previously treated advanced melanoma. Our plan is to enroll patients with advanced melanoma, excluding uveal melanoma, that have progressed on an anti-PD1, received prior ipilimumab and, if applicable, received TKI. We plan to start the randomization of this trial in the fourth quarter of 2022, and we designed the trial with input from global melanoma experts and from the FDA.
Presentation of Initial Phase 1 Data from Dose Escalation Trial of IMC-F106C at ESMO Congress 2022
Overview
IMC-F106C, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an optimal HLA-A*02:01 PRAME antigen, is currently being evaluated in a first-in-human, Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial in patients with multiple solid tumor cancers including NSCLC, SCLC, endometrial, ovarian, cutaneous melanoma, and breast cancers. PRAME is overexpressed in many solid tumors including NSCLC, SCLC, endometrial, ovarian, melanoma and certain breast cancers. We believe IMC-F106C is the first clinical stage bi-specific targeting PRAME.
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Trial Design
The trial will be conducted in two phases, and we intend to enroll up to 170 patients. Patient eligibility for the dose escalation phase of the trial are HLA-A*02:01 positivity with either a high expression frequency tumor indication that does not require screening for PRAME positivity or a lower expression frequency tumor indication where PRAME positivity has been confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining. The primary endpoint in the Phase 1 portion of the clinical trial is to assess the safety and tolerability and identify the maximum tolerated dose and/or the recommended Phase 2 dose of IMC-F106C as a monotherapy and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. The primary endpoint in the Phase 2 portion of the clinical trial is to characterize the initial efficacy of IMC-F106C as monotherapy. Secondary endpoints include pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, and antitumor efficacy of IMC-F106C as monotherapy and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor.
Summary of Initial Results from Phase 1 Portion
Our IMC-F106C trial was initiated in May 2020 in the United States. As of July 18, 2022, the data cut-off date for the presentation, 55 patients have been treated across 10 dose cohorts. IMC-F106C was observed to be well-tolerated, with treatment-related adverse events, or AEs, that were manageable and consistent with the mechanism of action. The most frequent treatment-related AE reported was cytokine release syndrome, or CRS, which was mostly Grade 1 (none of were greater than Grade 3) and occurred predominantly during the time period where the initial three doses were administered. None of the related AEs led to treatment discontinuation or patient death.
Doses of greater than 20 mcg were observed in the trial to be clinically active and had consistent and robust interferon gamma induction, a specific marker of T cell activation. Most of the patients in these active dose cohorts were enrolled without prospective PRAME testing. In these patients, PRAME expression was analyzed retrospectively; the vast majority were positive, and the average expression was high (median H score 188).
In the clinically active dose cohorts, durable partial responses, or PR, were observed in 2 patients with cutaneous melanoma (6 patients enrolled), 2 patients with ovarian cancer (4 patients enrolled) and 3 patients with tebentafusp-naïve uveal melanoma (6 patients enrolled). We did not observe any PR responses in patients with UM who had progressed on prior tebentafusp. All ovarian patients in the trial were platinum-resistant, and all cutaneous melanoma patients had progressed on prior anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4. Six of the seven PRs are still ongoing, including two patients with PRs for over seven months. Ten additional efficacy evaluable patients across four other tumor types had a best RECIST response of stable disease or progressive disease. A majority of patients evaluable for circulating tumor DNA had at least a 50% reduction.
Ongoing Expansion Arms in Four Cancer Types
We have initiated patient enrollment into four expansion arms in cutaneous melanoma, NSCLC, endometrial and ovarian cancers. The IMC-F106C-101 trial is adaptive and includes the option for Phase 2 expansion of over 100 patients per tumor type. Dose escalation continues in additional solid tumors as well as plans for expansion into combination arms with standards-of-care.
Corporate Information
Immunocore Holdings plc was incorporated as Immunocore Holdings Limited, a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales on January 7, 2021 with company registration number 13119746 for the purpose of becoming the holding company of Immunocore Limited. Immunocore Limited was incorporated under the laws of England and Wales in December 2007, with company registration number 06456207. On January 22, 2021, each holder of series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares, G1 shares, G2 shares and ordinary shares in Immunocore Limited sold and transferred their shares to Immunocore Holdings Limited (now Immunocore Holdings plc) in exchange for receiving 100 shares of the same class in Immunocore Holdings Limited. We refer to this as our “Share Exchange”. On February 1, 2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited was re-registered as a public limited company with the name Immunocore Holdings plc. In addition, immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering on February 9, 2021, all of the outstanding series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares and series C preferred shares in Immunocore Holdings plc were re-designated as ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares. The G1 shares in Immunocore Holdings plc were re-designated as deferred shares on a 1 for 1 basis. Each G2 share in Immunocore Holdings plc was
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subdivided and re-designated into one ordinary share and three deferred shares before such ordinary shares and deferred shares were consolidated into ordinary shares and deferred shares, respectively, on a 4 to 1 basis. All ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares with a nominal value of £0.0001 each resulting from those steps were consolidated into ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares with a nominal value of £0.002 each on a 20 to 1 basis.
Our registered office is located at 92 Park Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom, and the telephone number of our registered office is +44 (0)1235 438600. Our principal executive offices in the United States are located at Six Tower Bridge, Suite 200, 181 Washington Street, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428, and the telephone number of our U.S. office is +1 484 534 5261.
Our website address is www.immunocore.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Immunocore LLC.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies in the United States. These provisions include:
an exemption from compliance with any requirement that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board may adopt regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;
reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;
an exemption from the non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation, including golden parachute arrangements; and
an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced requirements until we are no longer an emerging growth company. Because the market value of our equity securities that was held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of June 30, 2022, we will cease being an emerging growth company as of December 31, 2022 and will no longer be able to take advantage of these reduced requirements.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected to comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies.
We report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, as long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will continue to be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including:
the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations with respect to a security registered under the Exchange Act;
the requirement to comply with Regulation Fair Disclosure, or Regulation FD, which regulates selective disclosure of material information;
the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and
the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of specified significant events.
Both foreign private issuers and emerging growth companies are also exempt from certain more stringent executive compensation disclosure rules. Thus, even when we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company,
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as long as we remain a foreign private issuer, we will continue to be exempt from the more stringent compensation disclosures required of companies that are neither an emerging growth company nor a foreign private issuer. As a result, we do not know if some investors will find our ADSs less attractive, which may result in a less active trading market for our ADSs or more volatility in the price of our ADSs.
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THE OFFERING
ADSs offered by us
ADSs having an aggregate offering price of up to $250,000,000
Ordinary shares to be outstanding after this offering
Up to 48,976,202 ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs (as more fully described in the notes following this table), assuming sales of 5,002,000 ADSs in this offering at an offering price of $49.98 per ADS, which was the last reported sale price of ADSs on the Nasdaq on September 7, 2022. The actual number of ADSs issued will vary depending on the sales prices under this offering.
American Depositary Shares
Each ADS represents one ordinary share, nominal value £0.002 per ordinary share. As a holder of ADSs, you will not be treated as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. The depositary, or its nominee, will hold the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs in a custody account with the custodian, and you will have the rights of an ADS holder or beneficial owner (as applicable) as provided in the deposit agreement among us, the depositary and holders and beneficial owners of ADSs. To better understand the terms of our ADSs, see “Description of American Depositary Shares.” We also encourage you to read the deposit agreement, which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement forms a part.
Depositary
Citibank, N.A.
Plan of Distribution
“At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through our sales agent, Jefferies LLC. See “Plan of Distribution” on page S-26 of this prospectus supplement.
Use of proceeds
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, together with our existing cash, to fund our clinical pipeline including the continued clinical development of tebentafusp in advanced cutaneous melanoma and of our ImmTAC clinical candidates targeting MAGE A-4 and PRAME, for working capital and for other general corporate purposes.
Nasdaq Global Select Market symbol
“IMCR”
Risk factors
Investing in our ADSs involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and the sections captioned “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022 and in our other filings that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
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All information in this prospectus supplement related to the number of ordinary shares to be outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 43,974,202 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) outstanding as of June 30, 2022. The number of ordinary shares outstanding as of June 30, 2022 as used throughout this prospectus supplement, unless otherwise indicated, excludes:
10,174,957 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, or our 2021 EIP, as of June 30, 2022, with a weighted-average exercise price of $22.70 per share;
2,628,525 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our 2021 EIP as of June 30, 2022, as well as any automatic increases in the number of ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under such plan; and
3,733,333 ordinary shares, consisting of 2,000,000 ADSs and 1,733,333 non-voting ordinary shares, sold in the July 2022 PIPE transaction.
Except as otherwise indicated herein, all information in this prospectus assumes no issuance or exercise of outstanding options after June 30, 2022.
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our ADSs involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our ADSs, you should consider carefully the risks discussed below and under the section captioned “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022 and in our other filings that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in its entirety, together with the other information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our ADSs to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. Please also read carefully the section below entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Risks Related to This Offering
Our management might apply the net proceeds from this offering in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may impair the value of your investment.
Because we have not designated the amount of net proceeds from this offering to be used for any particular purpose, our management will have broad discretion as to the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of the offering. We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, together with our existing cash, to fund our clinical pipeline including the continued clinical development of tebentafusp in advanced cutaneous melanoma and of our ImmTAC clinical candidates targeting MAGE-A4 and PRAME, for working capital and for other general corporate purposes. Our management might apply these proceeds in ways with which you do not agree, or in ways that do not improve our financial condition or market value, which could compromise our ability to pursue our growth strategy and adversely affect the market price of our ADSs.
You may experience immediate and substantial dilution in the book value per ADS that you purchase in the offering.
The offering price per ADS in this offering may exceed the net tangible book value per ADS outstanding prior to this offering. Assuming that an aggregate of 5,002,000 of our ADSs are sold at a price of $49.98 per ADS, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, on September 7, 2022, for aggregate gross proceeds of $250,000,000, and after deducting commissions payable by us, you would experience immediate dilution of $40.95 per ADS, representing the difference between our as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS as of June 30, 2022, after giving effect to this offering, and the assumed offering price. The exercise of outstanding share options would result in further dilution of your investment. See the section entitled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you would incur if you purchase ADSs in this offering. Because the sales of ADSs offered hereby will be made directly into the market or in negotiated transactions, the prices at which we sell these ADS will vary and these variations may be significant. Purchasers of the ADSs we sell, as well as our existing shareholders and holders of our ADSs, will experience significant dilution if we sell ADSs at prices significantly below the price at which they invested.
You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.
To raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional ADSs or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for ADSs at prices that may not be the same as the price per ADS in this offering. We may sell ADSs or other securities in any other offering at a price per ADS that is less than the price per ADS paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing ADSs or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing shareholders or ADS holders. The price per ADS at which we sell additional ADSs, or securities convertible or exchangeable into ADSs, in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per ADS paid by investors in this offering.
We do not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have never paid cash dividends on our ordinary shares and currently do not plan to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
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The ADSs offered hereby will be sold in “at-the-market” offerings, and investors who buy ADSs at different times will likely pay different prices.
Investors who participate in this offering at different times will likely pay different prices and may experience different outcomes in their investment results. We will have discretion, subject to market demand, to vary the timing, prices, and numbers of ADSs sold, and there is no minimum or maximum sale price. Investors may experience a decline in the value of their investment as a result of sales made at prices lower than the prices they paid.
The actual number of ADSs we will issue under the sales agreement, at any one time or in total, is uncertain.
Subject to certain limitations in the sales agreement and compliance with applicable law, we have the discretion to deliver placement notices to Jefferies at any time throughout the term of the sales agreement. The number of ADSs that are sold by Jefferies after delivering a placement notice will fluctuate based on, among other things, the market price of our ADSs during the sales period and limits we set with Jefferies. Because the price of each ADS will fluctuate based on, among other things, the market price of our ADSs during the sales period, it is not possible at this stage to predict the number of ADSs that will be ultimately issued.
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements relate to future events or to our future operating or financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about:
our ability to maintain regulatory approval of KIMMTRAK for mUM in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada;
the timing of, and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of, KIMMTRAK in additional jurisdictions and complete related national procedures;
our expectations regarding the continued commercialization, marketing and therapeutic potential of KIMMTRAK for mUM;
our ability to build a sustainable pipeline of new medicine candidates, including but not limited to future generations of KIMMTRAK;
the expected clinical benefits of KIMMTRAK and our other product candidates, including extended overall survival benefit;
expectations regarding the timing of the commercial launch of KIMMTRAK in additional jurisdictions, the timing of commercial availability and the ability to reach patients in a timely manner;
the value proposition of our product candidates, including KIMMTRAK in mUM and its benefit as an orphan indication, including expectations regarding the potential market size opportunity;
our ability to successfully execute our sales and marketing strategy of KIMMTRAK in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, including continuing to successfully recruit and retain sales and marketing personnel and to successfully build the market for our medicines;
our expectations about the willingness of healthcare providers to recommend KIMMTRAK to people with mUM;
the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates among physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, third-party payors and the medical community and our ability and our distribution and marketing partners’ ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement and pricing for, our medicines from government and third-party payers and risks relating to the success of our patient assistance programs;
the initiation, timing, progress and results of our current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials and related preparatory work and the period during which the results of the trials will become available, as well as our research and development programs;
our estimates regarding the period of time for which our current capital resources will be sufficient to fund our continued operations, our future expenses, including the impact thereon of rising inflation, our revenues and our needs for and ability to obtain additional financing, and the accuracy thereof;
our expectations regarding timing of regulatory filings for, or our ability to obtain regulatory approval of, our product candidates other than KIMMTRAK;
our ability to obtain accelerated approval for current and future product candidates from the FDA, EMA, or other jurisdictions;
our ability to identify and develop additional product candidates using our ImmTAX platform;
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our expectations regarding business disruptions affecting the initiation, patient enrollment, clinical trial site monitoring, development and operation of our current and proposed clinical trials, as well as commercialization of our products, including KIMMTRAK, including as a result of a public health emergency, such as the ongoing coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic, the war in Ukraine, global geopolitical tensions and rising inflation;
our business strategies and goals;
our plans to collaborate, or statements regarding our current collaborations;
our ability to find future partners and collaborators;
the performance of our third-party suppliers and manufacturers,
our expectations regarding our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others;
our expectations regarding competition with respect to KIMMTRAK or any of our other current or future product candidates, as well as innovations by current and future competitors in our industry;
our expectations regarding regulatory developments in the United States and other countries, including potential changes in healthcare laws and regulations;
our financial performance and our ability to effectively manage our anticipated growth;
our ability to identify, recruit and retain qualified employees, including key commercial or management personnel;
whether we are classified as a PFIC for current and future periods;
our ability to raise additional capital; and
our expected use of proceeds from this offering.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “will” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We discuss many of these risks, uncertainties and other factors in greater detail under the section captioned “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022 and in our other filings that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Also, these forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of the document containing the applicable statement. Unless required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events or developments. Thus, you should not assume that our silence over time means that actual events are bearing out as expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus supplement, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
You should read carefully this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” in this prospectus supplement, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We may issue and sell ADSs having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $250,000,000 from time to time. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. There can be no assurance that we will sell any ADSs under or fully utilize the sales agreement with Jefferies as a source of financing.
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, together with our existing cash, to fund our clinical pipeline including the continued clinical development of tebentafusp in advanced cutaneous melanoma and of our ImmTAC clinical candidates targeting MAGE A-4 and PRAME, for working capital and for other general corporate purposes. We have not determined the amounts we plan to spend on any of the areas listed above or the timing of these expenditures. As a result, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds, if any, we receive in connection with securities offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement for any purpose. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we may initially invest the net proceeds in a variety of capital preservation instruments, including short-term, investment-grade and interest-bearing securities.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid a dividend, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying dividends in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business.
Under current English law, among other things, a company’s accumulated realized profits must exceed its accumulated realized losses (on a non-consolidated basis) before dividends can be paid. Accordingly, we may only pay dividends if we have sufficient distributable reserves (on a non-consolidated basis), which are our accumulated realized profits that have not been previously distributed or capitalized less our accumulated realized losses, so far as such losses have not been previously written off in a reduction or reorganization of capital.
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DILUTION
If you invest in our ADSs in this offering, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the price per ADS you pay in this offering and the net tangible book value per ADS immediately after this offering. Dilution with respect to net tangible book value per ADS represents the difference between the amount per ADS paid by purchasers of ADSs in this offering and the net tangible book value per ADS immediately after this offering.
As of June 30, 2022, we had a net tangible book value of $200.3 million, or £164.7 million, or $4.55 per ADS, or £3.74 per ADS. Our net tangible book value per share represents total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the number of ordinary shares outstanding on June 30, 2022.
After giving effect to the sale of 5,002,000 ADSs in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $49.98 per ADS, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on Nasdaq on September 7, 2022, and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us, our adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022 would have been $442.4 million, or £363.8 million, or $9.03 per ADS, or £7.43 per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in adjusted net tangible book value of $4.48 per ADS, or £3.68 per ADS, to existing investors and immediate dilution of $40.95 per ADS, or £33.67 per ADS, to new investors attributable to this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution to new investors purchasing ADSs in this offering on a per ADS basis:
Assumed public offering price per ADS
 
$49.98
Net tangible book value per ADS as of June 30, 2022
$4.55
 
Increase in net tangible book value per ADS attributable to this offering
$4.48
 
As adjusted net tangible book value per ADS as of June 30, 2022, after giving effect to this offering
 
$9.03
Dilution per share to new investors purchasing ADSs in this offering
 
$40.95
The table and discussion above exclude:
10,174,957 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding under our 2021 EIP as of June 30, 2022, with a weighted-average exercise price of $22.70 per share;
2,628,525 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our 2021 EIP as of June 30, 2022; and
3,733,333 ordinary shares, consisting of 2,000,000 ADSs and 1,733,333 non-voting ordinary shares, sold in the July 2022 PIPE transaction.
To the extent that outstanding options are exercised, new options are issued or we issue additional ordinary shares or ADSs in the future, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering.
The ADSs sold in this offering, if any, will be sold from time to time at various prices. An increase of $1.00 per ADS in the price at which the ADSs are sold from the assumed offering price of $49.98 per share shown in the table above, assuming all of the ADSs in the aggregate amount of $250,000,000 are sold at that price, would increase our adjusted net tangible book value per ADS after the offering to $9.13 and would increase the dilution in net tangible book value per ADS to new investors in this offering to $41.85, after deducting commissions payable by us. A decrease of $1.00 in the price at which the ADSs are sold from the assumed offering price, assuming all of the ADSs in the aggregate amount of $250,000,000 are sold at that price, would decrease our adjusted net tangible book value per ADS after the offering to $8.93 and would decrease the dilution in net tangible book value per ADS to new investors in this offering to $40.05, after deducting commissions payable by us. This information is supplied for illustrative purposes only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and the actual number of ADSs that we sell in the offering.
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TAXATION
The following summary contains a description of material U.K. and U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our ADSs. This summary should not be considered a comprehensive description of all the tax considerations that may be relevant to the decision to acquire ADSs in this offering.
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders
The following is a description of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to the U.S. Holders described below of owning and disposing of our ordinary shares or ADSs. It is not a comprehensive description of all tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular person’s decision to acquire securities. This discussion applies only to a U.S. Holder that holds our ordinary shares or ADSs as a capital asset for tax purposes (generally, property held for investment). In addition, it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant in light of a U.S. Holder’s particular circumstances, including state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences, estate tax consequences, alternative minimum tax consequences, the impact of special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, the potential application of the Medicare contribution tax, and tax consequences applicable to U.S. Holders subject to special rules, such as:
banks, insurance companies, and certain other financial institutions;
U.S. expatriates and certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;
dealers or traders in securities who use a mark-to-market method of tax accounting;
persons holding ordinary shares or ADSs as part of a hedging transaction, “straddle,” wash sale, conversion transaction or integrated transaction or persons entering into a constructive sale with respect to ordinary shares or ADSs;
persons whose “functional currency” for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar;
brokers, dealers or traders in securities, commodities or currencies;
tax-exempt entities or government organizations;
S corporations, partnerships, or other entities or arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);
regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts;
persons who acquired our ordinary shares or ADSs pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation;
persons holding shares or ADSs in connection with a trade or business outside the United States;
persons that own or are deemed to own ten percent or more of our shares (by vote or value); and
persons holding our ordinary shares or ADSs in connection with a trade or business, permanent establishment, or fixed base outside the United States.
If an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds ordinary shares or ADSs, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding ordinary shares or ADSs and partners in such partnerships are encouraged to consult their tax advisors as to the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding and disposing of ordinary shares or ADSs.
The discussion is based on the Code, administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions, final, temporary and proposed Treasury Regulations, and the income tax treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States, the Treaty, all as of the date hereof, changes to any of which may affect the tax consequences described herein - possibly with retroactive effect.
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A “U.S. Holder” is a holder who, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is a beneficial owner of ordinary shares or ADSs who is:
(1)
an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
(2)
a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia;
(3)
an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or
(4)
a trust if (1) a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) the trust has a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations.
U.S. Holders are encouraged to consult their tax advisors concerning the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of owning and disposing of ordinary shares or ADSs in their particular circumstances.
The discussion below assumes that the representations contained in the deposit agreement are true and that the obligations in the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be complied with in accordance with their terms. Generally, a holder of an ADS should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as holding the ordinary shares represented by the ADS. Accordingly, no gain or loss will be recognized upon an exchange of ADSs for ordinary shares.
Passive Foreign Investment Company rules
Under the Code, we will be a PFIC for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of our gross income consists of passive income or (2) 50% or more of the value of our assets (generally determined on the basis of a weighted quarterly average) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (including cash). For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and certain rents and royalties. Cash and cash-equivalents are passive assets for these purposes. In addition, for purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that directly or indirectly owns at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as holding and receiving directly its proportionate share of assets and income of such corporation. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our shares, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse tax consequences regardless of whether we continue to qualify as a PFIC, including ineligibility for any preferred tax rates on capital gains or on actual or deemed dividends, interest charges on certain taxes treated as deferred and additional reporting requirements.
Based on our analysis of our activities and our income and assets, we believe that we were not a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2021. However, the determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis applying principles and methodologies that in some circumstances are unclear and subject to varying interpretation. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will not be treated as a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year. In addition, for our current and future taxable years, the total value of our assets for PFIC testing purposes (including goodwill) may be determined in part by reference to the market price of our ADSs from time to time, which may fluctuate considerably. Accordingly, if our market capitalization declines while we hold a substantial amount of cash and cash-equivalents for any taxable year we may be a PFIC for that taxable year. Under the income test, our status as a PFIC depends on the composition of our income for the relevant taxable year which will depend on the transactions we enter into in the future and our corporate structure. The composition of our income and assets is also affected by how we spend the cash we raise in any offering. We have only recently begun to generate product revenues and therefore we may be a PFIC for any taxable year in which we do not generate sufficient amounts of active income to offset our passive financing income. Therefore, we cannot express an expectation regarding our PFIC status for the current or any future taxable year. Even if we determine that we are not a PFIC for a taxable year, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with our conclusion and that the IRS would not successfully challenge our position. Accordingly, our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for any prior, current or future taxable year.
If we are classified as a PFIC in any year with respect to which a U.S. Holder owns the ordinary shares or ADSs, we will continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to such U.S. Holder in all succeeding years during which the U.S. Holder owns the ordinary shares or ADSs, regardless of whether we continue to meet the tests
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described above unless we cease to be a PFIC and the U.S. Holder has made a “deemed sale” election under the PFIC rules. If such a deemed sale election is made, a U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold the ordinary shares or ADSs the U.S. Holder holds at their fair market value and any gain from such deemed sale would be subject to the rules described below. After the deemed sale election, so long as we do not become a PFIC in a subsequent taxable year, the U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares or ADSs with respect to which such election was made will not be treated as shares in a PFIC and the U.S. Holder will not be subject to the rules described below with respect to any “excess distribution” the U.S. Holder receives from us or any gain from an actual sale or other disposition of the ordinary shares or ADSs. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors as to the possibility and consequences of making a deemed sale election if we are a PFIC and cease to be a PFIC and such election becomes available.
For each taxable year that we are treated as a PFIC with respect to U.S. Holders, U.S. Holders will be subject to special tax rules with respect to any “excess distribution” such U.S. Holder receives and any gain such U.S. Holder recognizes from a sale or other disposition (including a pledge) of ordinary shares or ADSs, unless (i) such U.S. Holder makes a “qualified electing fund” election, or QEF Election, with respect to all taxable years during such U.S. Holder’s holding period in which we are a PFIC, or (ii) our ordinary shares or ADSs constitute “marketable stock” and such U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election (as discussed below). Distributions a U.S. Holder receives in a taxable year that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions a U.S. Holder received during the shorter of the three preceding taxable years or the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or ADSs will be treated as an excess distribution. Under these special tax rules:
the excess distribution or gain will be allocated ratably over a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or ADSs;
the amount allocated to the taxable year of the disposition or distribution (as applicable), and any taxable year prior to the first taxable year in which we became a PFIC, will be treated as ordinary income; and
the amount allocated to each other year will be subject to the highest tax rate in effect for that year and the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the resulting tax attributable to each such year.
The tax liability for amounts allocated to years prior to the year of disposition or “excess distribution” cannot be offset by any net operating losses for such years, and gains (but not losses) realized on the sale of the ordinary shares or ADSs cannot be treated as capital, even if a U.S. Holder holds the ordinary shares or ADSs as capital assets.
If we are a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will generally be subject to similar rules with respect to distributions we receive from, and our dispositions of the stock of, any of our direct or indirect subsidiaries or any other entities in which we hold equity interests that also are PFICs (“lower-tier PFICs”), as if such distributions were indirectly received by, and/or dispositions were indirectly carried out by, such U.S. Holder. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to lower-tier PFICs.
If a U.S. Holder makes an effective QEF election, the U.S. Holder will be required to include in gross income for each year in which we are a PFIC, whether or not we make distributions, as capital gains, such U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of our net capital gains and, as ordinary income, such U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of our earnings in excess of our net capital gains. An electing U.S. Holder’s basis in our ordinary shares or ADSs will be increased to reflect the amount of any taxed but undistributed income. Distributions of income that had previously been taxed will result in a corresponding reduction of basis in the ordinary shares or ADSs and generally will not be taxed again as distributions to the U.S. Holder. In addition, a U.S. Holder that makes a QEF election will be taxed on the disposition of ordinary shares or ADSs as described in “Sale or other taxable disposition of ordinary shares and ADSs” below. In order to apply the QEF regime in lieu of the general PFIC rules described above, a U.S. Holder generally must make the QEF election for the first taxable year during a U.S. Holder’s holding period in which we are treated as a PFIC.
A U.S. Holder can only make a QEF election with respect to ordinary shares or ADSs in a PFIC if the Company agrees to furnish such U.S. Holder with certain information annually. If we determine that the Company is a PFIC in any taxable year, we intend to make available to U.S. Holders, upon request and in accordance with
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applicable procedures and confidentiality requirements, a “PFIC Annual Information Statement” with respect to the Company for such taxable year. The “PFIC Annual Information Statement” may be used by U.S. Holders for purposes of complying with the reporting requirements applicable to a QEF election with respect to the Company.
A QEF election with respect to the Company will not apply to any of our lower-tier PFICs. If we determine that any of our current subsidiaries is a lower-tier PFIC for any taxable year in which the Company is a PFIC, we currently expect that we will provide the information necessary for U.S. Holders to make a QEF election with respect to such lower-tier PFIC, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to provide such information.
U.S. Holders should note that if they make a QEF election with respect to us, they may be required to pay U.S. federal income tax with respect to their ordinary shares or ADSs for any taxable year significantly in excess of any cash distributions (which are currently expected to be zero) received on the ordinary shares or ADSs for such taxable year. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding PFIC investments and making QEF elections based on their particular circumstances.
U.S. Holders can avoid the interest charge on excess distributions or gain relating to the ADSs by making a mark-to-market election with respect to the ADSs, provided that the ADSs are “marketable stock.” The ADSs will be marketable stock if they are “regularly traded” on certain U.S. stock exchanges or on a non-U.S. stock exchange that meets certain conditions. For these purposes, the ADSs will be considered regularly traded during any calendar year during which they are traded, other than in de minimis quantities, on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter. Any trades that have as their principal purpose meeting this requirement will be disregarded. Our ADSs (but not ordinary shares) are listed on the Nasdaq, which is a qualified exchange for these purposes. Consequently, if our ADSs remain listed on the Nasdaq and are regularly traded, we expect the mark-to-market election would be available to U.S. Holders of our ADSs if we are a PFIC. Each U.S. Holder should consult its tax advisor as to the whether a mark-to-market election is available or advisable with respect to the ADSs.
A U.S. Holder that makes a mark-to-market election must include in ordinary income for each year an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the ADSs at the close of the taxable year over the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs. An electing U.S. Holder may also claim an ordinary loss deduction for the excess, if any, of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted basis in the ADSs over the fair market value of the ADSs at the close of the taxable year, but this deduction is allowable only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains for prior years. Gains from an actual sale or other disposition of the ADSs in any year in which we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income, and any losses incurred on a sale or other disposition of the shares will be treated as an ordinary loss to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains for prior years. Once made, the election cannot be revoked without the consent of the IRS unless the ADSs cease to be marketable stock.
However, a mark-to-market election generally cannot be made for equity interests in any lower-tier PFICs that we own, unless shares of such lower-tier PFIC are themselves “marketable stock.” As a result, even if a U.S. Holder validly makes a mark-to-market election with respect to our ADSs, the U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules (described above) with respect to its indirect interest in any of our investments that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors as to the availability and desirability of a mark-to-market election, as well as the impact of such election on interests in any lower-tier PFICs.
Unless otherwise provided by the U.S. Treasury, each U.S. shareholder of a PFIC is required to file an annual report containing such information as the U.S. Treasury may require. A U.S. Holder’s failure to file the annual report may result in substantial penalties and extend the statute of limitations with respect to the U.S. Holder’s federal income tax return. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the requirements of filing such information returns under these rules.
WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE IMPACT OF OUR PFIC STATUS ON YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE ORDINARY SHARES OR ADSs AS WELL AS THE APPLICATION OF THE PFIC RULES TO YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE ORDINARY SHARES OR ADSs.
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Taxation of distributions
Subject to the discussion above under “Passive Foreign Investment Company rules,” distributions paid on ordinary shares or ADSs, other than certain pro rata distributions of ordinary shares or ADSs, will generally be treated as dividends to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Because we may not calculate our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, we expect that distributions generally will be reported to U.S. Holders as dividends. Subject to applicable limitations, dividends paid to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders may be taxable at preferential rates applicable to “qualified dividend income.” However, the qualified dividend income treatment will not apply if we are treated as a PFIC with respect to the U.S. Holder for our taxable year of the distribution or the preceding taxable year. The amount of the dividend will be treated as foreign-source dividend income to U.S. Holders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally available to U.S. corporations under the Code. Dividends will generally be included in a U.S. Holder’s income on the date of the U.S. Holder’s receipt of the dividend. The amount of any dividend income paid in foreign currency will be the U.S. dollar amount calculated by reference to the exchange rate in effect on the date of actual or constructive receipt, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. If the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars on the date of receipt, a U.S. Holder should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the dividend income. A U.S. Holder may have foreign currency gain or loss if the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars after the date of receipt. Such gain or loss would generally be treated as U.S.-source ordinary income or loss. The amount of any distribution of property other than cash (and other than certain pro rata distributions of ordinary shares or ADSs or rights to acquire ordinary shares or ADSs) will be the fair market value of such property on the date of distribution. For foreign tax credit purposes, our dividends will generally be treated as passive category income.
Sale or other taxable disposition of ordinary shares and ADSs
Subject to the discussion above under “Passive Foreign Investment Company rules,” gain or loss realized on the sale or other taxable disposition of ordinary shares or ADSs will be capital gain or loss, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder held the ordinary shares or ADSs for more than one year. The amount of the gain or loss will equal the difference between the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares or ADSs disposed of and the amount realized on the disposition, in each case as determined in U.S. dollars. This gain or loss will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for foreign tax credit purposes. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
If the consideration received by a U.S. Holder is not paid in U.S. dollars, the amount realized will be the U.S. dollar value of the payment received determined by reference to the spot rate of exchange on the date of the sale or other disposition. However, if the ordinary shares or ADSs are treated as traded on an “established securities market” and you are either a cash basis taxpayer or an accrual basis taxpayer that has made a special election (which must be applied consistently from year to year and cannot be changed without the consent of the IRS), you will determine the U.S. dollar value of the amount realized in a non-U.S. dollar currency by translating the amount received at the spot rate of exchange on the settlement date of the sale. If you are an accrual basis taxpayer that is not eligible to or does not elect to determine the amount realized using the spot rate on the settlement date, you will recognize foreign currency gain or loss to the extent of any difference between the U.S. dollar amount realized on the date of sale or disposition and the U.S. dollar value of the currency received at the spot rate on the settlement date.
Information reporting and backup withholding
Payments of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries generally are subject to information reporting, and may be subject to backup withholding, unless (i) the U.S. Holder is a corporation or other exempt recipient or (ii) in the case of backup withholding, the U.S. Holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies that it is not subject to backup withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a U.S. Holder will be allowed as a credit against the holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle it to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
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Information with respect to foreign financial assets
Certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain specified entities may be required to report information relating to the ordinary shares or ADSs, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for ordinary shares or ADSs held in accounts maintained by financial institutions, in which case the accounts themselves may have to be reported if maintained by non-U.S. financial institutions). U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their reporting obligations with respect to their ownership and disposition of the ordinary shares or ADSs.
U.K. Taxation
The following is intended as a general guide to current U.K. tax law and HM Revenue & Customs, or HMRC, practice applying as at the date of this prospectus supplement (both of which are subject to change at any time, possibly with retrospective effect) relating to the holding of ADSs. It does not constitute legal or tax advice and does not purport to be a complete analysis of all U.K. tax considerations relating to the holding of ADSs, or all of the circumstances in which holders of ADSs may benefit from an exemption or relief from U.K. taxation. It is written on the basis that the company does not (and will not) directly or indirectly derive 75% or more of its qualifying asset value from U.K. land, and that the company is and remains solely resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes and will therefore be subject to the U.K. tax regime and not the U.S. tax regime save as set out above under “U.S. Federal Income Taxation.”
Except to the extent that the position of non-U.K. resident persons is expressly referred to, this guide relates only to persons who are resident (and, in the case of individuals, domiciled or deemed domiciled and to whom split year treatment does not apply) for tax purposes solely in the United Kingdom and do not have a permanent establishment, branch, agency (or equivalent) or fixed base in any other jurisdiction with which the holding of the ADSs is connected, or U.K. Holders, who are absolute beneficial owners of the ADSs (where the ADSs are not held through an Individual Savings Account or a Self-Invested Personal Pension) and who hold the ADSs as investments.
This guide may not relate to certain classes of U.K. Holders, such as (but not limited to):
persons who are connected with the company;
financial institutions;
insurance companies;
charities or tax-exempt organizations;
collective investment schemes;
pension schemes;
market makers, intermediaries, brokers or dealers in securities;
persons who have (or are deemed to have) acquired their ADSs by virtue of an office or employment or who are or have been officers or employees of the company or any of its affiliates; and
individuals who are subject to U.K. taxation on a remittance basis.
The decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) in HSBC Holdings PLC and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC (2012) cast some doubt on whether a holder of a depositary receipt is the beneficial owner of the underlying shares. However, based on published HMRC guidance we would expect that HMRC will regard a holder of ADSs as holding the beneficial interest in the underlying shares and therefore these paragraphs assume that a holder of ADSs is the beneficial owner of the underlying ordinary shares and any dividends paid in respect of the underlying ordinary shares (where the dividends are regarded for U.K. purposes as that person’s own income) for U.K. direct tax purposes.
THESE PARAGRAPHS ARE A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN U.K. TAX CONSIDERATIONS AND ARE INTENDED AS A GENERAL GUIDE ONLY. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL HOLDERS OF ADSs OBTAIN ADVICE AS TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSAL OF THE ADSs IN THEIR OWN SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES FROM THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS. IN PARTICULAR, NON-U.K. RESIDENT OR DOMICILED PERSONS ARE ADVISED TO CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF ANY RELEVANT DOUBLE TAXATION AGREEMENTS.
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Dividends
Withholding Tax
Dividends paid by the company will not be subject to any withholding or deduction for or on account of U.K. tax.
Income Tax
An individual U.K. Holder may, depending on his or her particular circumstances, be subject to U.K. tax on dividends received from the company. An individual holder of ADSs who is not resident for tax purposes in the United Kingdom should not be chargeable to U.K. income tax on dividends received from the company unless he or she carries on (whether solely or in partnership) a trade, profession or vocation in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency to which the ADSs are attributable. There are certain exceptions for trading in the United Kingdom through independent agents, such as some brokers and investment managers.
All dividends received by an individual U.K. Holder from us or from other sources will form part of that U.K. Holder’s total income for income tax purposes and will constitute the top slice of that income. A nil rate of income tax will apply to the first £2,000 of taxable dividend income received by the individual U.K. Holder in a tax year. Income within the nil rate band will be taken into account in determining whether income in excess of the £2,000 tax-free allowance falls within the basic rate, higher rate or additional rate tax bands. Dividend income in excess of the tax-free allowance will (subject to the availability of any income tax personal allowance) be taxed at 8.75% to the extent that the excess amount falls within the basic rate tax band, 33.75% to the extent that the excess amount falls within the higher rate tax band and 39.35% to the extent that the excess amount falls within the additional rate tax band.
Corporation Tax
A corporate holder of ADSs who is not resident for tax purposes in the United Kingdom should not be chargeable to U.K. corporation tax on dividends received from the company unless it carries on (whether solely or in partnership) a trade in the United Kingdom through a permanent establishment to which the ADSs are attributable.
Corporate U.K. Holders should not be subject to U.K. corporation tax on any dividend received from the company so long as the dividends qualify for exemption, which should be the case, although certain conditions must be met. If the conditions for the exemption are not satisfied, or such U.K. Holder elects for an otherwise exempt dividend to be taxable, U.K. corporation tax will be chargeable on the amount of any dividends (at the current rate of 19%, but with the main rate announced to increase to 25% with effect from April 1, 2023).
Chargeable Gains
A disposal or deemed disposal of ADSs by a U.K. Holder may, depending on the U.K. Holder’s circumstances and subject to any available exemptions or reliefs (such as the annual exemption), give rise to a chargeable gain or an allowable loss for the purposes of U.K. capital gains tax and corporation tax on chargeable gains.
If an individual U.K. Holder who is subject to U.K. income tax at either the higher or the additional rate is liable to U.K. capital gains tax on the disposal of ADSs, the current applicable rate will be 20%. For an individual U.K. Holder who is subject to U.K. income tax at the basic rate and liable to U.K. capital gains tax on such disposal, the current applicable rate would be 10%, save to the extent that any capital gains when aggregated with the U.K. Holder’s other taxable income and gains in the relevant tax year exceed the unused basic rate tax band. In that case, the rate currently applicable to the excess would be 20%.
If a corporate U.K. Holder becomes liable to U.K. corporation tax on the disposal (or deemed disposal) of ADSs, the main rate of U.K. corporation tax (currently 19%, but announced to increase to 25% with effect from April 1, 2023) would apply.
A holder of ADSs which is not resident for tax purposes in the United Kingdom should not normally be liable to U.K. capital gains tax or corporation tax on chargeable gains on a disposal (or deemed disposal) of ADSs unless the person is carrying on (whether solely or in partnership) a trade, profession or vocation in the United Kingdom through a branch or agency (or, in the case of a corporate holder of ADSs, through a permanent
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establishment) to which the ADSs are attributable. However, an individual holder of ADSs who has ceased to be resident for tax purposes in the United Kingdom for a period of less than five years and who disposes of ADSs during that period may be liable on his or her return to the United Kingdom to U.K. tax on any capital gain realized (subject to any available exemption or relief).
Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax
The discussion below relates to the holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs wherever resident, however it should be noted that special rules may apply to certain persons such as market makers, brokers, dealers or intermediaries.
Issue of Shares
No U.K. stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax, or SDRT, is generally payable on the issue of the underlying ordinary shares in the company.
Transfers of Shares
An unconditional agreement to transfer ordinary shares in certificated form will normally give rise to a charge to SDRT at the rate of 0.5% of the amount or value of the consideration payable for the transfer. The purchaser of the shares is liable for the SDRT. Transfers of ordinary shares in certificated form are generally also subject to stamp duty at the rate of 0.5% of the amount or value of the consideration given for the transfer (rounded up to the next £5.00). Stamp duty is normally paid by the purchaser. The charge to SDRT will be canceled or, if already paid, repaid (generally with interest), where a transfer instrument has been duly stamped within six years of the charge arising (either by paying the stamp duty or by claiming an appropriate relief) or if the instrument is otherwise exempt from stamp duty.
An unconditional agreement to transfer ordinary shares to, or to a nominee or agent for, a person whose business is or includes the issue of depositary receipts or the provision of clearance services will generally be subject to SDRT (or, where the transfer is effected by a written instrument, stamp duty) at a higher rate of 1.5% of the amount or value of the consideration given for the transfer unless the clearance service has made and maintained an election under section 97A of the U.K. Finance Act 1986, or a section 97A election. It is understood that HMRC regards the facilities of DTC as a clearance service for these purposes and we are not aware of any section 97A election having been made by DTC. However, no SDRT is generally payable where the transfer of ordinary shares to a clearance service or depositary receipt system is an integral part of an issue of share capital.
Any stamp duty or SDRT payable on a transfer of ordinary shares to a depositary receipt system or clearance service will in practice generally be paid by the transferors or participants in the clearance service or depositary receipt system.
Issue of ADSs
No U.K. stamp duty or SDRT is payable on the issue of our ADSs.
Transfers of ADSs
No SDRT should be required to be paid on a paperless transfer of ADSs through the clearance service facilities of DTC, provided that no section 97A election has been made by DTC, and such ADSs are held through DTC at the time of any agreement for their transfer.
No U.K. stamp duty will in practice be payable on a written instrument transferring an ADS provided that the instrument of transfer is executed and remains at all times outside the United Kingdom. Where these conditions are not met, the transfer of, or agreement to transfer, an ADS could, depending on the circumstances, attract a charge to U.K. stamp duty at the rate of 0.5% of the amount or value of the consideration. If it is necessary to pay stamp duty, it may also be necessary to pay interest and penalties.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We have entered into a sales agreement with Jefferies, under which we may offer and sell up to $250,000,000 of the ADSs representing our ordinary shares from time to time through Jefferies acting as our sales agent. Sales of the ADSs, if any, under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be made by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act.
Each time we wish to sell the ADSs under the sales agreement, we will notify Jefferies of the number of ADSs to be issued, the dates on which such sales are anticipated to be made, any limitation on the number of ADSs to be sold in any one day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Once we have so instructed Jefferies, unless Jefferies declines to accept the terms of such notice, Jefferies has agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such shares up to the amount specified on such terms. The obligations of Jefferies under the sales agreement to sell the ADSs are subject to a number of conditions that we must meet.
The settlement of sales of the ADSs between us and Jefferies is generally anticipated to occur on the second trading day following the date on which the sale was made. Sales of the ADSs as contemplated in this prospectus supplement will be settled through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company or by such other means as we and Jefferies may agree upon. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.
We will pay Jefferies a commission of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds we receive from each sale of the ADSs. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. In addition, we have agreed to reimburse Jefferies for the fees and disbursements of its legal counsel and for expenses relating to clearance of this offering with the Financial Industry Regulation Authority, or FINRA, payable upon execution of the sales agreement, in an amount not to exceed $115,000, in addition to certain ongoing fees and disbursements of its legal counsel under certain circumstances. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding any commissions or expense reimbursement payable to Jefferies under the terms of the sales agreement, will be approximately $350,000. The remaining sale proceeds, after deducting any other transaction fees, will equal our net proceeds from the sale of such ADSs.
Jefferies will provide written confirmation to us before the open on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on the day following each day on which ADSs are sold under the sales agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of ADSs sold on that day, the aggregate gross proceeds of such sales and the proceeds to us.
In connection with the sale of ADSs on our behalf, Jefferies will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of Jefferies will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed to indemnify Jefferies against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have also agreed to contribute to payments Jefferies may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.
The offering of the ADSs pursuant to the sales agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all ADSs subject to the sales agreement and (ii) the termination of the sales agreement as permitted therein. We and Jefferies may each terminate the sales agreement at any time upon ten days’ prior notice.
This summary of the material provisions of the sales agreement does not purport to be a complete statement of its terms and conditions. A copy of the sales agreement is filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K filed under the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
Jefferies and its affiliates may in the future provide various investment banking, commercial banking, financial advisory and other financial services for us and our affiliates, for which services they may in the future receive customary fees. In the course of its business, Jefferies may actively trade our securities for its own account or for the accounts of customers, and, accordingly, Jefferies may at any time hold long or short positions in such securities.
A prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in electronic format may be made available on a website maintained by Jefferies, and Jefferies may distribute the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus electronically.
The address of Jefferies LLC is 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022.
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs, being offered by this prospectus and certain other matters of English law will be passed upon for us by Cooley (UK) LLP. Certain other matters of U.S. federal law will be passed upon for us by Cooley LLP. The sales agent is represented with respect to matters of U.S. law by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, New York, New York and with respect to matters of English law by Davis Polk & Wardwell London LLP, London, United Kingdom.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Immunocore Holdings plc and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The registered business address of KPMG LLP are located at 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GL, United Kingdom.
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SERVICE OF PROCESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LIABILITIES
We are incorporated and currently existing under the laws of England and Wales. In addition, certain of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States and most of the assets of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process on us or those persons in the United States or to enforce in the United States judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or those persons based on the civil liability or other provisions of the U.S. securities laws or other laws.
In addition, uncertainty exists as to whether the courts of England and Wales would:
recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liabilities provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or
entertain original actions brought in England and Wales against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have been advised by Cooley (UK) LLP and Cooley LLP that there is currently no treaty between (i) the United States and (ii) England and Wales providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters (although the United States and the United Kingdom are both parties to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards) and that a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any general or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the United States securities laws, would not be automatically enforceable in England and Wales. We have also been advised by Cooley (UK) LLP and Cooley LLP that any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in United States courts would be treated by the courts of England and Wales as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that:
the relevant U.S. court had jurisdiction over the original proceedings according to English conflicts of laws principles at the time when proceedings were initiated;
England and Wales courts had jurisdiction over the matter on enforcement and we either submitted to such jurisdiction or were resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and were duly served with process;
the U.S. judgment was final and conclusive on the merits in the sense of being final and unalterable in the court that pronounced it and being for a definite sum of money;
the judgment given by the courts was not in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations (or otherwise based on a U.S. law that an English court considers to relate to a penal, revenue or other public law);
the judgment was not procured by fraud;
the judgment was not obtained following a breach of a jurisdictional or arbitrational clause, unless with the agreement of the defendant as the defendant’s subsequent submission to the jurisdiction of the court;
recognition or enforcement of the judgment in England and Wales would not be contrary to public policy or the Human Rights Act 1998;
the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice;
the U.S. judgment was not arrived at by doubling, trebling or otherwise multiplying a sum assessed as compensation for the loss or damages sustained and not being otherwise in breach of Section 5 of the U.K. Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980, or is a judgment based on measures designated by the Secretary of State under Section 1 of that Act;
there is not a prior decision of an English court or the court of another jurisdiction on the issues in question between the same parties; and
the English enforcement proceedings were commenced within the limitation period.
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Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the United States securities laws, including whether the award of monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision.
Subject to the foregoing, investors may be able to enforce in England and Wales judgments in civil and commercial matters that have been obtained from U.S. federal or state courts. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that those judgments will be recognized or enforceable in England and Wales.
If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement. In addition, it may not be possible to obtain an English judgment or to enforce that judgment if the judgment debtor is or becomes subject to any insolvency or similar proceedings, or if the judgment debtor has any set-off or counterclaim against the judgment creditor. Also note that, in any enforcement proceedings, the judgment debtor may raise any counterclaim that could have been brought if the action had been originally brought in England unless the subject of the counterclaim was in issue and denied in the U.S. proceedings.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. Under the Exchange Act, we file annual reports on Form 20-F and other information with the SEC. We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in the United Kingdom, filed with and made public by any stock exchange on which we are listed or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.
This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the SEC and does not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement forms a part. Statements in this prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.
We also maintain a website at www.immunocore.com through which you can access our SEC filings. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and shall not be incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information from other documents that we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents rather than by including them in this prospectus supplement. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement. Information in this prospectus supplement supersedes information incorporated by reference that we filed with the SEC prior to the date of this prospectus supplement, while information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information in this prospectus supplement. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement is a part the information or documents listed below (other than information in such filings that has been furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC):
our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022;
our reports on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on January 26, 2022; April 4, 2022; May 11, 2022 (except exhibit 99.3); June 6, 2022; June 8, 2022; June 9, 2022; June 27, 2022; July 11, 2022; July 20, 2022; August 10, 2022 (except exhibits 99.3 and 99.4); and September 9, 2022 (except exhibit 99.1); and
the description of our ADSs representing our ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the SEC under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act on February 2, 2021, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description (File No. 001-39992), including Exhibit 2.4 to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021.
We are also incorporating by reference all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus supplement (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement) prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered hereby. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus supplement shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus supplement on the written or oral request of that person made to:
Immunocore Holdings plc
Attention: Investor Relations
92 Park Drive
Milton Park
Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1235 438600.
In addition, copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be accessed at our website at www.immunocore.com. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on or accessible through our website, and you should not consider the contents of our website in making an investment decision with respect to our ADSs.
You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
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PROSPECTUS


Ordinary Shares
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
From time to time, we or any selling shareholder may offer and sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in combination with other securities. We or any selling shareholder may also offer American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, representing ordinary shares upon conversion of or exchange for the debt securities or upon the exercise of the warrants.
This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. We will provide you with the specific terms of any offering in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements will also describe the specific manner in which these securities will be offered and may also supplement, update or amend information contained in this document. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, carefully before you invest.
We or any selling shareholder will sell these securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers, on a continuous or delayed basis. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any underwriters or agents are involved in the sale of our securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters or agents and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise set forth in a prospectus supplement, we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by selling shareholders.
Our ADSs representing our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “IMCR.” On April 1, 2022, the last reported sale price of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $31.05 per ADS. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to other listings, if any, on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the applicable prospectus supplement. Prospective purchasers of our securities are urged to obtain current information as to the market prices of our securities, where applicable.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks that we have described on page 8 of this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors” and under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We may also include specific risk factors in supplements to this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is April 4, 2022.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of an automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Under this shelf registration process, we or selling shareholders may offer our ordinary shares, including ADSs representing our ordinary shares, debt securities and/or warrants either individually or in combination with other securities, in one or more offerings. There is no limit on the aggregate amount of the securities that we or selling securityholders may offer pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we or selling shareholders may offer.
Each time we or selling shareholders offer to sell securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in any documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference,” before investing in any of the securities offered.
THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSUMMATE A SALE OF SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.
Neither we, nor any selling shareholder, agent, underwriter or dealer has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. This prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do this prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.
You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is delivered, or securities are sold, on a later date.
This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Unless otherwise indicated in this prospectus, “Immunocore,” “the company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Immunocore Holdings plc and its subsidiaries.
“Immunocore” and “KIMMTRAK” are registered trademarks of Immunocore. All other trademarks and registered trademarks contained in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks, tradenames and service marks referred to in this prospectus (including the documents incorporated by reference) appear without the ®, ™ and SM symbols, but the absence of those symbols is not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert our rights or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights to these trademarks, tradenames and service marks to the fullest extent under applicable law.
All references in this prospectus to “$” mean U.S. dollars and all references to “£” and “GBP” mean pounds sterling.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
The following summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. We urge you to read this entire prospectus, including the more detailed consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference from our other filings with the SEC, or included in any applicable prospectus supplement. Investing in our securities involves risks. Therefore, carefully consider the risk factors set forth in any prospectus supplements and in our most recent filings with the SEC including our Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, as well as other information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, before purchasing our securities. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities.
Company Overview
We are a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of TCR bispecific immunotherapies called ImmTAX - Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against X disease - designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune. Leveraging our proprietary, flexible, off-the-shelf ImmTAX platform, we are developing a deep pipeline in multiple therapeutic areas, including five clinical stage programs in oncology and infectious disease, advanced pre-clinical programs in autoimmune disease and multiple earlier pre-clinical programs. Our lead product, KIMMTRAK, is a first-in-class TCR therapeutic approved for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma, or mUM, in the United States.
We have three clinical stage programs within our ImmTAC (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Cancer) platform, including KIMMTRAK. Our clinical programs are being conducted with patients with a broad range of cancers including melanoma, lung, gastric, head and neck and ovarian, among others. As of December 31, 2021, we have dosed over 700 cancer patients with our ImmTAX product candidates, which we believe is the largest clinical data set of any bispecific in a solid tumor and any TCR therapeutic. Our other ImmTAX product candidates have the potential to address other tumor types with larger addressable patient bispecific therapeutic populations and significant unmet need, and we are studying the application of our ImmTAX platform to infectious diseases and autoimmune conditions.
Our Lead Product - KIMMTRAK
On January 26, 2022, we announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or mUM. KIMMTRAK is the first TCR therapeutic to receive regulatory approval from the FDA, the first bispecific T cell engager to receive regulatory approval from the FDA to treat a solid tumor, and the first and only therapy for the treatment of unresectable or mUM to be approved by the FDA.
On April 1, 2022 the European Commission approved KIMMTRAK for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM. The European Commission approval follows a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, in February 2022. The CHMP recommendation of KIMMTRAK is based on the results of Immunocore’s Phase 3 IMCgp100-202 clinical trial. The European Commission has the authority to approve medicines for use throughout the European Union, and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway following completion of related national procedures. We anticipate launching KIMMTRAK in Europe in the second quarter of 2022. We also intend to continue to support patients through our global early access program, which allows us to offer KIMMTRAK as a treatment to mUM patients as regulatory approval is sought in the European Union and their respective European countries. As of December 31, 2021, there were over 200 mUM patients enrolled in the program.
In addition, the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, Health Canada, and Australia’s Department of Health Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, have each accepted the submission of our Marketing Authorisation Application, or MAA.
KIMMTRAK is manufactured at facilities located in Denmark and Germany. We are supporting the appropriate use of KIMMTRAK in the United States through a well-equipped and fit-for-purpose commercial team that includes medical, sales, and value access team members. We utilize a hybrid model that includes in-house and
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contracted resources in the United States and Europe. KIMMTRAK commercial supply was made available shortly after the FDA approval for the treatment of patients with unresectable or mUM. We also launched a payer program called KIMMTRAKConnect with the goal to help ensure patients in the United States have access to KIMMTRAK, including financial assistance, personalized support and education, and site of care coordination for eligible patients. To support our commercial efforts outside the United States assuming receipt of regulatory approvals, we entered into an exclusive multi-regional agreement with Medison Pharma Ltd. to help seek regulatory authorization and commercialize KIMMTRAK in Canada, 20 markets across Central Eastern Europe and Israel.
Our ImmTAX Platform and ImmTAX Bispecific Therapeutics
Unlike antibody targeted immunotherapies that have a relatively small target pool, our approach relies on the power of T cell receptors, or TCRs, which are naturally occurring receptors found on the surface of T cells that have the ability to target nearly all of the human proteome. Natural TCRs give T cells the ability to scan for abnormalities in nearly any cell in the body that are presented as protein fragments, or antigens, by human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, on the cell surface. Our ImmTAX platform builds upon these natural TCRs to engineer soluble targeted and high-affinity TCRs. By engineering these TCRs, using our ImmTAX platform, we are developing off-the-shelf, bispecific therapeutics, which are able to precisely target a wide range of proteins uniquely expressed by unhealthy and abnormal cells that cannot be targeted by current antibody-based immunotherapies.
Our ImmTAX bispecific therapeutics couple the targeting power of these engineered TCRs on one end with the other end displaying pre-optimized effector functions, which have the ability to drive a desired immune response at the site of the disease. This combination is designed to provide us with significant flexibility as we are able to engineer and tailor our ImmTAX therapeutics to target proteins that are specific to the disease we are trying to treat and then modulate the corresponding immune response by either boosting or inhibiting the immune system.
Our Pipeline
We are currently leveraging our ImmTAX platform within three therapeutic areas: oncology, infectious disease and autoimmune disease. We have named each of these platforms according to their therapeutic area to distinguish the type of target recognized by the TCR targeting system and the selected effector function. We have five clinical stage assets as well as numerous pre-clinical programs. While our most advanced clinical programs are focused on developing treatments for oncology, we believe our ImmTAX platform is versatile, and will also allow us to develop therapeutics with significant advantages in the treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases. Our current pipeline is represented in the diagram below.

Our ImmTAC Platform (Oncology)
Within our ImmTAC platform, we have three clinical stage programs (including KIMMTRAK) and additional pre-clinical programs (two of which are shown in the diagram above), focusing on the treatment of solid tumors
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with high unmet medical needs. Our ImmTAC product candidates are bispecific, soluble TCR molecules featuring an antigen-specific targeting module based on our high-affinity, highly specific TCR system and our proprietary cluster of differentiation 3 effector module for T cell recruitment, engagement and activation.
Our ImmTAC programs include:
KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn), our ImmTAC molecule targeting an HLA-A*02:01 gp100 antigen, is our first approved product. We announced FDA approval of KIMMTRAK on January 26, 2022 for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM. KIMMTRAK demonstrated monotherapy activity and recently achieved the primary endpoint of superior overall survival in a randomized Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with previously untreated mUM against the investigator’s choice of treatment. The OS hazard ratio in the intent-to-treat population favored tebentafusp, HR=0.51 (95% CI: 0.37, 0.71); p< 0.0001, over investigator’s choice (82% pembrolizumab; 13% ipilimumab; 6% dacarbazine). The FDA reviewed KIMMTRAK under the Real-Time Oncology Review pilot program, an initiative of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence designed to expedite the delivery of safe and effective cancer treatments to patients, and the FDA’s Project Orbis initiative, which enables concurrent review by the health authorities in partner countries that have requested participation. On April 1, 2022 the European Commission approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM.
We are also developing tebentafusp for the treatment of metastatic cutaneous melanoma, or mCM, which is another indication with unmet medical need. In November 2021, we presented data from our Phase 1b clinical trial of tebentafusp in patients with mCM at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 36th Annual Meeting. Preliminary evidence of tebentafusp clinical activity in mCM patients who had prior anti-PDL1 therapy included 1-year overall survival rate of 76%. We anticipate initiating a Phase 2 randomized clinical trial in patients with mCM with and without anti-PDL1 therapies in the fourth quarter of 2022.
IMC-C103C, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an HLA-A*02:01 MAGE-A4 antigen, is currently being evaluated in a first-in-human, Phase ½ dose escalation clinical trial in patients with solid tumor cancers including non-small-cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, gastric, head and neck, ovarian and synovial sarcoma. In December 2021, we reported initial Phase 1 data from this trial at the European Society of Medical Oncology Immuno-Oncology Congress (ESMO-IO) 2021. Preliminary data from the trial showed that IMC-C103C promising clinical activity with confirmed durable responses in ovarian cancer and a confirmed durable response in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or HNSCC and demonstrated a manageable safety profile. We have initiated an expansion arm cohort of the ongoing trial for patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and plan to observe dosing at a level of 140 micrograms/week. We anticipate reporting additional data from the Phase 1 portion of the trial in the fourth quarter of 2022.
IMC-F106C, our ImmTAC molecule targeting an optimal HLA-A*02:01 PRAME antigen is currently being evaluated in a first-in-human, Phase ½ dose escalation trial in patients with multiple solid tumor cancers including NSCLC, SCLC, endometrial, ovarian, cutaneous melanoma, and breast cancers. As of December 31, 2021, we enrolled 39 patients in the Phase 1 clinical trial. Early pharmacodynamic data indicates that IMC-F106C monotherapy is demonstrating biological activity at the dose levels currently under evaluation. We anticipate reporting Phase 1 initial data from the trial in the third quarter of 2022.
Our ImmTAV Platform (Infectious Diseases)
Using our ImmTAV (Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against Virus) platform, we have advanced our first program into the clinic. Our ImmTAV product candidates are bispecific soluble TCR molecules featuring our ImmTAX TCR-based targeting system with high specificity for low-expression viral antigens, combined with the proprietary anti-CD3 effector module for T cell engagement and activation that has been evidenced by our clinical oncology pipeline. We are seeking to develop therapeutics that can provide a functional cure to chronic viral disease and are focusing initially on hepatitis B virus, or HBV, and human immunosuppression virus, or HIV.
Our ImmTAV programs include:
IMC-I109V, our ImmTAV molecule targeting a conserved hepatitis B virus, or HBV, envelope antigen, is our most advanced ImmTAV program and is currently being evaluated in a Phase ½ clinical trial in
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patients with chronic HBV who are non-cirrhotic, hepatitis B e-Antigen negative, and virally suppressed on chronic nucleot(s)ide analogue therapy. Our goal is to develop a functional cure for HBV, and we dosed the first patient in our Phase 1 single ascending dose trial in the second quarter of 2021.
IMC-M113V, our ImmTAV molecule targeting the human immunosuppression virus, or HIV, gag antigen bispecific TCR molecule, is currently in pre-clinical development. Our goal is to develop a functional cure for HIV. Our clinical trial application in the United Kingdom was accepted in December 2021, and we anticipate dosing the first patient in this trial during the second quarter of 2022. We plan to then expand the trial to Europe later in 2022.
Our ImmTAAI Platform (Autoimmune Diseases)
While our ImmTAC and ImmTAV platforms attempt to provide therapeutic benefit by driving an immune response against targeted cells, our ImmTAAI (Immune modulating monoclonal TCRs Against AutoImmune disease) platform leverages our ImmTAX platform to generate product candidates designed to provide precision targeted immunosuppression for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our ImmTAAI product candidates are designed to target organs, tissues or immune cells and deliver an immune suppressive effector function. We have optimized two immune system modulating effector functions to provide local T cell inhibition, which we believe may limit any adverse effects originating from systemic immune suppression. We believe we can use our ImmTAAI platform to develop a portfolio of product candidates to treat autoimmune indications with a high unmet medical need and provide significant benefit to patients.
Recent Developments
As previously announced, in July 2014, we entered into a development and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company, or Lilly, pursuant to which we and Lilly agreed to collaborate in the development, manufacture and commercialization of soluble TCR bispecific therapeutic compounds, which is referred to, as subsequently amended, as the Lilly Collaboration. Under the Lilly Collaboration, Lilly paid us an initial upfront fee payment of $45 million in exchange for options to three targets.
In November 2021, we presented pre-clinical data from the Lilly Collaboration at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting, where we demonstrated that our ImmTAC platform can be engineered to differentiate a single amino acid as well as our ability to develop a novel molecular mechanism for soluble TCR selectivity for single amino acid difference of a neoantigen versus the wild type peptide. We believe the Lilly Collaboration achieved our goal of engineering highly specific, affinity-enhanced T-cell receptor bispecifics capable of targeting the KRASG12D oncogene presented by two different HLAs. In March 2022, we and Lilly mutually agreed to terminate the Lilly Collaboration. Accordingly, the rights to two TCR candidates targeting KRASG12D pursued under the Lilly Collaboration reverted back to us, and no further obligations or payments are owed by us to Lilly.
On April 1, 2022 the European Commission approved KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM. The European Commission approval follows a positive opinion by the CHMP in February 2022. The CHMP recommendation of KIMMTRAK is based on the results of Immunocore’s Phase 3 IMCgp100-202 clinical trial.
Corporate Information
Immunocore Holdings plc was incorporated as Immunocore Holdings Limited, a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales on January 7, 2021 with company registration number 13119746 for the purpose of becoming the holding company of Immunocore Limited. Immunocore Limited was incorporated under the laws of England and Wales in December 2007, with company registration number 06456207. On January 22, 2021, each holder of series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares, G1 shares, G2 shares and ordinary shares in Immunocore Limited sold and transferred their shares to Immunocore Holdings Limited (now Immunocore Holdings plc) in exchange for receiving 100 shares of the same class in Immunocore Holdings Limited. We refer to this as our “Share Exchange”. On February 1, 2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited was re-registered as a public limited company with the name Immunocore Holdings plc. In addition, immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering on February 9, 2021, all of the outstanding series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares and series C preferred shares in Immunocore Holdings plc
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were re-designated as ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares. The G1 shares in Immunocore Holdings plc were re-designated as deferred shares on a 1 for 1 basis. Each G2 share in Immunocore Holdings plc was subdivided and re-designated into one ordinary share and three deferred shares before such ordinary shares and deferred shares were consolidated into ordinary shares and deferred shares, respectively, on a 4 to 1 basis. All ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares with a nominal value of £0.0001 each resulting from those steps were consolidated into ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares with a nominal value of £0.002 each on a 20 to 1 basis.
Our registered office is located at 92 Park Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom, and the telephone number of our registered office is +44 (0)1235 438600. Our principal executive offices in the United States are located at Six Tower Bridge, Suite 200, 181 Washington Street, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428, and the telephone number of our U.S. office is +1 484 534 5261.
Our website address is www.immunocore.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Immunocore, LLC.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies in the United States. These provisions include:
an exemption from compliance with any requirement that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board may adopt regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;
reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;
an exemption from the non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation, including golden parachute arrangements; and
an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced requirements until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (1) (a) December 31, 2026, (b) the last day of the fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion or more, or (c) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” under the rules of the SEC which means the market value of our equity securities that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. It is likely we will be deemed a “large accelerated filer” as of June 30, 2022, the last day of our next second fiscal quarter. If we are deemed a “large accelerated filer” as of June 30, 2022, we will cease being an emerging growth company as of January 1, 2023.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected to comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies.
We report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, as long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will continue to be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including:
the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations with respect to a security registered under the Exchange Act;
the requirement to comply with Regulation Fair Disclosure, or Regulation FD, which regulates selective disclosure of material information;
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the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and
the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of specified significant events.
Both foreign private issuers and emerging growth companies are also exempt from certain more stringent executive compensation disclosure rules. Thus, even when we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, as long as we remain a foreign private issuer, we will continue to be exempt from the more stringent compensation disclosures required of companies that are neither an emerging growth company nor a foreign private issuer. As a result, we do not know if some investors will find our ADSs less attractive, which may result in a less active trading market for our ADSs or more volatility in the price of our ADSs.
The Securities We May Offer
Under this prospectus, we or selling shareholders may offer ordinary shares, ADSs representing our ordinary shares, various series of debt securities or warrants to purchase our ordinary shares represented by ADSs, either individually or in combination with other securities, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we or selling shareholders may offer. Each time we or selling shareholders offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:
designation or classification;
aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price;
maturity, if applicable;
rates and times of payment of interest or dividends, if any;
redemption, conversion or sinking fund terms, if any;
voting or other rights, if any; and
conversion or exercise prices, if any.
The prospectus supplement, and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you, also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
We or selling shareholders may sell the securities directly to investors or to or through agents, underwriters or dealers. We or selling shareholders, and our agents or underwriters, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we or selling shareholders offer securities through agents or underwriters, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:
the names of those agents or underwriters;
applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them;
details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and
the net proceeds to us.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as updated by our subsequent filings, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations.
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” and “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus and, while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
our ability to maintain regulatory approval of KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for mUM in the United States;
the timing of, and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of, KIMMTRAK in the European Union and respective European countries;
our expectations regarding the potential commercialization of, the marketing and therapeutic potential of KIMMTRAK for mUM;
our ability to build a sustainable pipeline of new medicine candidates, including but not limited to future generations of KIMMTRAK;
the expected clinical benefits of KIMMTRAK including extended overall survival benefit;
expectations regarding the timing of the commercial launch of KIMMTRAK, the timing of commercial availability and the ability to reach patients in a timely manner;
the value proposition of KIMMTRAK in mUM and benefit as an orphan indication including expectations regarding the potential market size opportunity;
our ability to successfully execute our sales and marketing strategy of KIMMTRAK in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, including continuing to successfully recruit and retain sales and marketing personnel and to successfully build the market for our medicines;
our expectations about the willingness of healthcare providers to recommend KIMMTRAK to people with mUM;
the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates among physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, third-party payors and the medical community and our ability and our distribution and marketing partners’ ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement and pricing for, our medicines from government and third-party payers and risks relating to the success of our patient assistance programs;
the market opportunities for our product candidates may be smaller than we estimate and any approval that we obtain may be based on a narrower definition of the patient population;
the initiation, timing, progress and results of our current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials and related preparatory work and the period during which the results of the trials will become available, as well as our research and development programs;
our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;
our expectations regarding timing of regulatory filings for, or our ability to obtain regulatory approval of, tebentafusp in additional jurisdictions, or any of our other product candidates;
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our ability to obtain accelerated approval for current and future product candidates from the FDA, EMA and MHRA;
our ability to identify and develop additional product candidates using our ImmTAX platform;
business disruptions affecting the initiation, patient enrollment, clinical trial site monitoring, development and operation of our current and proposed clinical trials, as well as commercialization of our products, including KIMMTRAK, including a public health emergency, such as the ongoing coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic;
the potential benefits of our product candidates;
our business strategies and goals;
our plans to collaborate, or statements regarding our current collaborations;
our ability to find future partners and collaborators;
the performance of our third-party suppliers and manufacturers,
our expectations regarding our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others;
the effects of competition with respect to KIMMTRAK or any of our other current or future product candidates, as well as innovations by current and future competitors in our industry;
regulatory developments in the United States and other countries, including potential changes in healthcare laws and regulations;
our financial performance and our ability to effectively manage our anticipated growth;
our ability to identify, recruit and retain qualified employees;
the loss of key commercial or management personnel;
whether we are classified as a PFIC for current and future periods;
our ability to raise additional capital; and
our estimates regarding the period of time for which our current capital resources will be sufficient to fund our continued operations, future expenses, revenues and needs for additional financing and the accuracy thereof.
You should refer to the important factors in the cautionary statements included in this prospectus and in the other documents incorporated herein, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, any free writing prospectuses that we or the selling shareholders may authorize for use in connection with an offering and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
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OFFER AND LISTING DETAILS
We or selling shareholders may sell from time to time pursuant to this prospectus (as may be detailed in a prospectus supplement) an indeterminate number of our ordinary shares, ADSs representing our ordinary shares, various series of debt securities, and warrants to purchase our ordinary shares represented by ADSs, either individually or in combination with other securities. The actual price per share or per security of the securities that we or selling shareholders will offer pursuant hereto will depend on a number of factors that may be relevant as of the time of offer. See “Plan of Distribution.”
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table presents our total capitalization and cash as of December 31, 2021. You should read the financial data in the following table in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
We maintain our books and records in pounds sterling. For the convenience of the reader, we have translated pound sterling amounts as of and for the period ended December 31, 2021 into U.S. dollars on December 31, 2021, which was £1.00 to $1.3500. These translations should not be considered representations that any such amounts have been, could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars at that or any other exchange rate as of that or any other date.
 
As of December 31,
2021
 
(in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents
£237,886
$321,147
Non-current interest-bearing loans and borrowings
37,226
50,255
Shareholders’ equity:
 
 
Voting ordinary shares, nominal value £0.002 per share, 43,031,223 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021
86
116
Non-voting ordinary shares, nominal value £0.002 per share, 831,627 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021
2
2
Deferred shares, nominal value £0.0001 per share, 5,793,501 shares as of December 31, 2021
1
Share premium
212,238
286,521
Other reserves
440,613
594,828
Accumulated deficit
(481,392)
(649,879)
Total shareholders’ equity
171,547
231,589
Total capitalization
£208,773
$281,844
The number of ordinary shares outstanding in the table above does not include:
9,198,460 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding under our equity incentive plans as of December 31, 2021, with a weighted-average exercise price of $22.31 per share; and
1,523,231 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under our 2021 EIP as of December 31, 2021.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized to be provided to you in connection with a specific offering, we intend to use any net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus to fund the commercialization of our products, activities relating to the continued clinical development of our product candidates and for other general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, working capital, capital expenditures, investments, acquisitions, should we choose to pursue any, and collaborations. We have not determined the amounts we plan to spend on any of the areas listed above or the timing of these expenditures. As a result, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds, if any, we receive in connection with securities offered pursuant to this prospectus for any purpose. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we may initially invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade and interest-bearing securities.
Unless the applicable prospectus supplement provides otherwise, we will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of securities by selling shareholders.
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SELLING SHAREHOLDERS
Selling shareholders are persons or entities that, directly or indirectly, have acquired or will from time to time acquire from us, our securities. Such selling shareholders may be parties to registration rights agreements with us, or we otherwise may have agreed or will agree to register their securities for resale. The initial purchasers of our securities, as well as their transferees, pledges, donees or successors, all of whom we refer to as “selling shareholders,” may from time to time offer and sell our securities pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement.
The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the name of each of the selling shareholders and the number of securities beneficially owned by such selling shareholder that are covered by such prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will also disclose whether any of the selling shareholders has held any position or office with, has been employed by or otherwise has had a material relationship with us during the three years prior to the date of the applicable prospectus supplement.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We or selling shareholders may offer securities under this prospectus from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We or selling shareholders may sell the securities (1) through underwriters or dealers, (2) through agents or (3) directly to one or more purchasers, or through a combination of such methods. We or selling shareholders may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at:
a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time;
market prices prevailing at the time of sale;
prices related to the prevailing market prices; or
negotiated prices.
Each time that we or selling shareholders sell securities covered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms and conditions of the offering of such securities, including the offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us, if applicable.
We or selling shareholders may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus. We or selling shareholders may also designate agents to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time, and may enter into arrangements for “at-the-market,” equity line or similar transactions. We will name in a prospectus supplement any underwriter or agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities.
If we or selling shareholders utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we or the selling shareholders will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
If we or selling shareholders utilize an underwriter in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we or the selling shareholders will execute an underwriting agreement with the underwriter at the time of sale, and we will provide the name of any underwriter in the prospectus supplement which the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we, the selling shareholders, or the purchasers of the securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and the underwriter may compensate those dealers in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions.
With respect to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions and block trades, we will provide in the applicable prospectus supplement information regarding any compensation we or selling shareholders pay to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We or selling shareholders may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof.
If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we or selling shareholders may authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons acting as our agents to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities from us pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on the date stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Each contract will be for an amount not less than, and the aggregate amount of securities sold pursuant to such contracts shall not be less nor more than, the respective amounts stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Institutions with whom the contracts, when authorized, may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and other institutions, but shall in all cases be subject to our approval. Delayed delivery contracts will not be subject to any conditions except that:
the purchase by an institution of the securities covered under that contract shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which that institution is subject; and
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if the securities are also being sold to underwriters acting as principals for their own account, the underwriters shall have purchased such securities not sold for delayed delivery. The underwriters and other persons acting as our agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of delayed delivery contracts.
One or more firms, referred to as “remarketing firms,” may also offer or sell the securities, if a prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as our agents. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities in accordance with the terms of the securities. Each prospectus supplement will identify and describe any remarketing firm and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and will describe the remarketing firm’s compensation. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket. Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
Certain underwriters may use this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement for offers and sales related to market-making transactions in the securities. These underwriters may act as principal or agent in these transactions, and the sales will be made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of sale. Any underwriters involved in the sale of the securities may qualify as “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. In addition, the underwriters’ commissions, discounts or concessions may qualify as underwriters’ compensation under the Securities Act and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA.
ADSs representing our ordinary shares sold pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part will be authorized for listing and trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. Underwriters may make a market in our ADSs, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We can make no assurance as to the liquidity of or the existence, development or maintenance of trading markets for any of the securities.
In order to facilitate the offering of the securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than we sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing the applicable security in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if the securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.
The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in other transactions with us, or perform other services for us, in the ordinary course of their business.
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
The following describes our issued share capital, summarizes the material provisions of our articles of association and highlights certain differences in corporate law in England and Wales and Delaware, in the United States. Please note that this summary is not intended to be exhaustive. For further information, please refer to the full version of our articles of association, which are incorporated by reference herein.
General
Set forth below is a summary of certain information concerning our share capital as well as a description of certain provisions of our articles of association and relevant provisions of the Companies Act 2006, or the Companies Act. The summary below contains only material information concerning our share capital and corporate status and does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our articles of association and applicable English law. Further, please note that holders of ADSs will not be treated as one of our shareholders and will not have any shareholder rights.
Immunocore Limited was incorporated under the laws of England and Wales in December 2007. Immunocore Holdings Limited was incorporated on January 7, 2021 as a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales with nominal assets and liabilities for the purpose of becoming the holding company of Immunocore Limited and consummating the corporate reorganization, further details of which are described in Note 30 to our Annual Report. On February 1, 2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited was re-registered as a public limited company with the name Immunocore Holdings plc.
Our registered office in the United Kingdom is located at 92 Park Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY, United Kingdom, and the telephone number of our registered office is +44 (0)1235 438600.
Our ordinary shares are registered under the Exchange Act, not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of the ADSs on The Nasdaq Global Select Market.
As of December 31, 2021, the issued and outstanding share capital of Immunocore Holdings plc was 43,862,850 ordinary shares, 12,003,203 of which were represented by ADSs and 831,627 of which were non-voting ordinary shares, and 5,793,501 deferred shares. The nominal value of the ordinary shares and the non-voting ordinary shares is £0.002 per share and each issued share is fully paid. The nominal value of the deferred shares is £0.0001 per share.
Our ADSs are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “IMCR.”
Ordinary Shares
In accordance with our articles of association, the following summarizes the rights of holders of our ordinary shares:
each holder of our ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per ordinary share on all matters to be voted on by shareholders generally;
the holders of the ordinary shares shall be entitled to receive notice of, attend, speak and vote at our general meetings; and
the holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to receive such dividends as are recommended by our directors and declared by our shareholders.
See also “—Articles of Association” below.
Deferred Shares
In accordance with our articles of association, the following summarizes the rights of holders of our deferred shares:
the deferred shares shall not be entitled to any dividends or to any other right of participation in the income or profits of the Company;
on the return of assets on a winding-up of the Company, the deferred shares shall confer on the holders thereof an entitlement to receive out of the assets of the Company available for distribution amongst the members (subject to the rights of any new class of shares with preferred rights) the amount paid up or credited as paid up on the deferred shares held by them respectively after (but only after) payment
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shall have been made to the holders of the ordinary shares and non-voting ordinary shares (if any) of the amounts paid up or credited as paid up on such shares and the sum of £1,000,000 in respect of each ordinary share or non-voting ordinary share held by them respectively. The deferred shares shall confer on the holders thereof no further right to participate in the assets of the Company;
the deferred shares do not entitle the holder thereof to receive notice of, or to attend, speak or vote at any general meeting, or be part of the quorum thereof as the holders of the deferred shares; and
the Company shall have irrevocable authority from each holder of deferred shares to either (i) appoint any person to execute on behalf of any holder of deferred shares a transfer of all or any of those shares and/or an agreement to transfer the same (without making any payment for them) to such person or persons as the Company may determine and to execute any other documents which such person may consider necessary or desirable to effect such transfer, in each case without obtaining the sanction of the holder(s) and without any payment being made in respect of such acquisition; and (ii) to purchase all or any of the deferred shares without obtaining the consent of the holders of those shares in consideration for an amount not exceeding £1.00 in respect of all the deferred shares then being purchased.
Non-Voting Ordinary Shares
Our articles of association provide for any non-voting ordinary shares to have the same rights and restrictions as the ordinary shares and otherwise rank pari passu in all respects with the ordinary shares save as follows:
a holder of non-voting ordinary shares shall, in relation to the non-voting ordinary shares held by him or her, have no right to receive notice of, or to attend or vote at, any general meeting of shareholders save in relation to a variation of class rights of the non-voting ordinary shares;
the non-voting ordinary shares shall be re-designated as ordinary shares by our board of directors, or a duly authorized committee or representative thereof, upon receipt of a re-designation notice and otherwise subject to the terms and conditions set out therein. A holder of non-voting ordinary shares shall not be entitled to have any non-voting ordinary shares re-designated as ordinary shares where such re-designation would result in such holder thereof beneficially owning (for purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act), when aggregated with “affiliates” and “group” members with whom such holder is required to aggregate beneficial ownership for purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act, in excess of 9.99 per cent. of any class of securities of the Company registered under the Exchange Act (which percentage may be increased or decreased on a holder-by-holder basis subject to the provisions set out therein); and
the non-voting ordinary shares shall be re-designated as ordinary shares automatically upon transfer of a non-voting ordinary share by its holder to any person that is not an “affiliate” or “group member” with whom such holder is required to aggregate beneficial ownership for purposes of section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. This automatic re-designation shall only be in respect of the non-voting ordinary shares that are subject to such transfer.
Options
As of December 31, 2021, there were options to purchase 9,198,460 ordinary shares outstanding with a weighted-average exercise price of $22.31 per share.
Register of Members
We are required by the Companies Act to keep a register of our shareholders. Under the laws of England and Wales, the ordinary shares are deemed to be issued when the name of the shareholder is entered in our register of members. The register of members therefore is prima facie evidence of the identity of our shareholders, and the shares that they hold. The register of members generally provides limited, or no, information regarding the ultimate beneficial owners of our ordinary shares. Our register of members is maintained by our registrar, Computershare Investor Services plc.
Holders of our ADSs will not be treated as one of our shareholders and their names will therefore not be entered in our register of members. The depositary, the custodian or their nominees will be the holder of the ordinary
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shares underlying our ADSs. Holders of our ADSs have a right to receive the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs. For discussion on our ADSs and ADS holder rights, see the section titled “Description of American Depositary Shares” in this prospectus.
Under the Companies Act, we must enter an allotment of shares in our register of members as soon as practicable and in any event within two months of the allotment. We will perform all procedures necessary to update the register of members to reflect the ordinary shares being sold in this offering, including updating the share register with the number of ordinary shares to be issued to the depositary upon the closing of this offering. We also are required by the Companies Act to register a transfer of shares (or give the transferee notice of and reasons for refusal) as soon as practicable and in any event within two months of receiving notice of the transfer.
We, any of our shareholders or any other affected person, may apply to the court for rectification of the register of members if:
the name of any person, without sufficient cause, is wrongly entered in or omitted from our register of members; or
there is a default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member or on which we have a lien, provided that such refusal does not prevent dealings in the shares taking place on an open and proper basis.
Registration Rights
We and the holders of certain of our ordinary shares are parties to a registration rights agreement that provides the following registration rights:
Demand Registration on Form F-1 - each holder is entitled to demand registration on Form F-1, provided that these demand registration rights may only be exercised by holders who hold, in the aggregate, not less than 30% of the aggregate number of shares held, immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering, by all holders who are party to the agreement. These demand registration rights may not be exercised more than twice.
Demand Registration on Form F-3 - each holder is entitled to demand registration on Form F-3, if we are eligible to register shares on Form F-3, provided that these demand registration rights may only be exercised by holders who hold, in the aggregate, not less than 20% of the aggregate number of shares held, immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering, by all holders who are party to the agreement. These demand registration rights may not be exercised more than twice in any calendar year.
Piggyback Registration - each holder is entitled to piggyback registration rights, subject, in the case of an underwritten offering, to customary reductions by the underwriter.
Expenses - we will pay all registration expenses relating to the exercise of the registration rights above, including the reasonable fees and expenses of one legal counsel to the participating holders up to a maximum of $50,000 in the aggregate.
Preemptive Rights
The laws of England and Wales generally provide shareholders with preemptive rights when new shares are issued for cash; however, it is possible for the articles of association, or shareholders at a general meeting representing at least 75% of our ordinary shares present (in person or by proxy) and voting at that general meeting, to disapply these preemptive rights. Such a disapplication of preemptive rights may be for a maximum period of up to five years from the date of adoption of the articles of association, if the disapplication is contained in the articles of association, or from the date of the shareholder resolution, if the disapplication is by shareholder resolution. In either case, this disapplication would need to be renewed by our shareholders upon its expiration (i.e., at least every five years) to be effective.
On February 3, 2021, our shareholders approved the disapplication of preemptive rights for a period of five years from the date of approval in relation to the shares authorized to be allotted pursuant to such resolution, which disapplication will need to be renewed upon expiration (i.e., at least every five years) to remain effective, but may be sought more frequently for additional five-year terms (or any shorter period).
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Key Provisions of Our Articles of Association
The following is a summary of certain key provisions of our articles of association. Please note that this is only a summary and is not intended to be exhaustive.
The articles of association contain, among other things, provisions to the following effect:
Objects
The objects of the Company are unrestricted.
Share Rights
Subject to the Companies Act and any rights attaching to shares already in issue, our shares may be issued with or have attached to them any rights and restrictions as we may by ordinary resolution of the shareholders determine or, in the absence of any such determination, as our board of directors may determine.
Voting Rights
Subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any shares from time to time, the general voting rights attaching to shares are as follows:
any resolution put to the vote of a general meeting must be decided exclusively on a poll; on a poll, every shareholder who is present in person or by proxy or corporate representative shall have one vote for each share of which they are the holder. A shareholder entitled to more than one vote need not, if they vote, use all their votes or cast all the votes in the same way; and
if two or more persons are joint holders of a share, then in voting on any question the vote of the senior who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders. For this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names of the holders stand in the share register.
Restrictions on Voting
No shareholder shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate class meeting in respect of any share held by him unless all calls or other sums payable by him in respect of that share have been paid.
The board may from time to time make calls upon the shareholders in respect of any money unpaid on their shares and each shareholder shall (subject to at least 14 clear days’ notice specifying the time or times and place of payment) pay at the time or times so specified the amount called on their shares.
Dividends
We may, subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and the articles of association, by ordinary resolution of shareholders declare dividends out of profits available for distribution in accordance with the respective rights of shareholders, but no such dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the board of directors.
The board of directors may from time to time pay shareholders such interim dividends as appears to the board to be justified by the profits available for distribution (including any dividends at a fixed rate). If the share capital is divided into different classes, the board of directors may pay interim dividends on shares which confer deferred or non-preferred rights with regard to dividend as well as on shares which confer preferential rights with regard to dividend, but no interim dividend shall be paid on shares carrying deferred or non-preferred rights if, at the time of payment, any preferential dividend is in arrears.
The board of directors may deduct from any dividend or other money payable to any person on or in respect of a share all such sums as may be due from such shareholder to us on account of calls or otherwise in relation to our shares. Sums so deducted can be used to pay amounts owing to us in respect of the shares.
Subject to any special rights attaching to or the terms of issue of any share, no dividend or other moneys payable by us on or in respect of any share shall bear interest against us. Any dividend unclaimed after a period of 12 years from the date such dividend became due for payment shall be forfeited and shall revert to us.
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Dividends may be declared or paid in any currency and the board may decide the rate of exchange for any currency conversions that may be required, and how any costs involved are to be met.
The board of directors may, by ordinary resolution, direct (or in the case of an interim dividend may without the authority of an ordinary resolution direct) that payment of any dividend declared may be satisfied wholly or partly by the distribution of assets, and in particular of paid up shares or debentures of any other company, or in any one or more of such ways.
Change of Control
There is no specific provision in our articles of association that would have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control.
Distributions on Winding Up
On a winding up, the liquidator may, with the sanction of a special resolution of shareholders and any other sanction required by law, divide amongst the shareholders in specie the whole or any part of our assets and may, for that purpose, value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the shareholders or different classes of shareholders. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the shareholders as he may with the like sanction determine, but no shareholder shall be compelled to accept any assets upon which there is a liability.
Variation of Rights
All or any of the rights and restrictions attached to any class of shares issued may be varied or abrogated with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than three-fourths in nominal value of the issued shares of that class (excluding any shares held as treasury shares) or by special resolution passed at a separate general meeting of the holders of such shares, subject to the Companies Act and the terms of their issue. The Companies Act provides a right to object to the variation of the share capital by the shareholders who did not vote in favor of the variation. Should an aggregate of not less than 15% of the shareholders of the issued shares in question apply to the court to have the variation cancelled, the variation shall have no effect unless and until it is confirmed by the court.
Alteration to Share Capital
We may, by ordinary resolution of shareholders, consolidate all or any of our share capital into shares of larger amount than our existing shares, or sub-divide our shares or any of them into shares of a smaller amount. We may, by special resolution of shareholders, confirmed by the court, reduce our share capital or any capital redemption reserve or any share premium account in any manner authorized by the Companies Act. We may redeem or purchase all or any of our shares as described in “—Other English Law Considerations—Purchase of Own Shares.” Our articles of association provide for non-voting ordinary shares to be re-designated as ordinary shares in certain circumstances as set out under “Non-Voting Ordinary Shares” above.
Allotment of Shares and Preemption Rights
Subject to the Companies Act and to any rights attached to existing shares, any share may be issued with or have attached to it such rights and restrictions as we may by ordinary resolution determine, or if no ordinary resolution has been passed or so far as the resolution does not make specific provision, as our board of directors may determine (including shares which are to be redeemed, or are liable to be redeemed at our option or the holder of such shares).
In accordance with the Companies Act, the board of directors may be generally and unconditionally authorized to exercise for each prescribed period of up to five years all the powers of the Company to allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares up to an aggregate nominal amount equal to the amount stated in the relevant ordinary resolution authorizing such allotment.
On February 3, 2021, our shareholders approved a resolution authorizing the board of directors pursuant to Section 551 of the Companies Act to allot new shares or to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the company up to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of £150,000. This authority runs for five years and will expire on February 3, 2026.
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On February 3, 2021, our shareholders also approved the disapplication of preemptive rights for a period of five years from the date of approval in relation to the shares authorized to be allotted pursuant to such resolution, which disapplication will need to be renewed upon expiration (i.e., at least every five years) to remain effective, but may be sought more frequently for additional five-year terms (or any shorter period).
In certain circumstances, our shareholders may have statutory preemptive rights under the Companies Act in respect of the allotment of new shares as described in “—Preemptive Rights” and “—Differences in Corporate Law—Preemptive rights” in this prospectus.
Transfer of Shares
Any shareholder holding shares in certificated form may transfer all or any of his shares by an instrument of transfer in any usual or common form or in any other manner which is permitted by the Companies Act and approved by the board. Any written instrument of transfer shall be signed by or on behalf of the transferor and (in the case of a share which is not fully paid up) the transferee.
All transfers of uncertificated shares shall be made in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 and the facilities and requirements of its relevant system. The Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 permit shares to be issued and held in uncertificated form and transferred by means of a computer-based system.
The board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any share in certificated form unless:
it is for a share which is fully paid up;
it is for a share upon which we have no lien;
it is only for one class of share;
it is in favor of a single transferee or no more than four joint transferees;
it is duly stamped or is duly certificated or otherwise shown to the satisfaction of the board to be exempt from stamp duty (if this is required); and
it is delivered for registration to our registered office (or such other place as the board may determine), accompanied (except in the case of a transfer by a person to whom we are not required by law to issue a certificate and to whom a certificate has not been issued or in the case of a renunciation) by the certificate for the shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the board may reasonably require to prove the title of the transferor (or person renouncing) and the due execution of the transfer or renunciation by him or, if the transfer or renunciation is executed by some other person on his behalf, the authority of that person to do so.
The board of directors may decline to register a transfer of uncertificated shares in any circumstances that are allowed or required by the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 and the requirements of its relevant system.
If the board of directors declines to register a transfer it shall, as soon as practicable and in any event within two months after the date on which the transfer is lodged, send to the transferee notice of the refusal, together with reasons for the refusal or, in the case of uncertified shares, notify such persons as may be required by the Uncertified Securities Regulations 2001 and the requirements of the relevant system concerned.
Annual General Meetings
In accordance with the Companies Act, we are required in each year to hold an annual general meeting in addition to any other general meetings in that year and to specify the meeting as such in the notice convening it. The annual general meeting shall be convened whenever and wherever the board sees fit, subject to the requirements of the Companies Act, as described in “—Differences in Corporate Law—Annual General Meeting” and “—Differences in Corporate Law—Notice of General Meetings” in this prospectus.
Notice of General Meetings
The arrangements for the calling of general meetings are described in “—Differences in Corporate Law—Notice of General Meetings” in this prospectus.
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Quorum of General Meetings
No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present. At least two shareholders present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote shall be a quorum for all purposes.
Class Meetings
The provisions in our articles of association relating to general meetings apply to every separate general meeting of the holders of a class of shares except that:
the quorum for such class meeting shall be two holders in person or by proxy representing not less than one-third in nominal value of the issued shares of the class (excluding any shares held in treasury); and
if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum is not present at the meeting, one holder of shares of the class present in person or by proxy at an adjourned meeting constitutes a quorum.
Number of Directors
We may not have less than two directors or more than fifteen directors on the board of directors. We may, by ordinary resolution of the shareholders, vary the minimum and/or maximum number of directors from time to time.
Appointment of Directors, Classification and Reappointment of Directors
Subject to our articles of association and the Companies Act, we may by ordinary resolution appoint a person who is willing to act as a director and the board of directors shall have power at any time to appoint any person who is willing to act as a director, in both cases either to fill a vacancy or as an addition to the existing board of directors, provided the total number of directors shall not exceed the maximum number of fifteen.
Our articles of association provide that our board of directors are divided into three classes, each of which will consist, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of directors constituting our entire board and which will serve staggered three-year terms. At each annual general meeting, the successors to directors whose terms then expire are elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual general meeting following election. Directors of the class retiring at the annual general meeting shall be eligible for re-appointment by ordinary resolution at such annual general meeting.
At every subsequent annual general meeting, any director who has been appointed by the board of directors since the last annual general meeting, must retire from office and may offer themselves for reappointment by the shareholders by ordinary resolution.
Directors’ Interests
The directors may authorize, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any matter or situation proposed to them which would otherwise result in a director infringing his duty to avoid a situation in which he has, or can have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly may conflict, with our interests. A director shall not, save as otherwise agreed by him, be accountable to us for any remuneration, profit or other benefit which he derives from any matter authorized by the directors or by the shareholders in general meeting and no contract shall be liable to be avoided on any such grounds.
Subject to the requirements under sections 175, 177 and 182 of the Companies Act, a director who is any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a proposed or existing transaction or arrangement with us shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the directors.
A director shall not vote in respect of any transactions or, arrangement with the Company in which he has an interest and which may reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict of interest. A director shall not be counted in the quorum at a meeting in relation to any resolution on which he is debarred from voting.
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A director shall be entitled to vote (and be counted in the quorum) in respect of any resolution concerning any of the following matters:
the giving of any guarantee, security or indemnity in respect of money lent or obligations incurred by him or by any other person at the request of or for the benefit of our company or any of our subsidiary undertakings;
the giving of any guarantee, security or indemnity in respect of a debt or obligation of our company or any of our subsidiary undertakings for which he himself has assumed responsibility in whole or in part under a guarantee or indemnity or by the giving of security;
any proposal or contract relating to an offer of securities of or by our company or any of our subsidiary undertakings in which offer he is or may be entitled to participate as a holder of securities or in the underwriting or sub-underwriting of which he is to participate;
any arrangement involving any other company if the director (together with any person connected with him) has an interest of any kind in that company (including an interest by holding any position in that company or by being a member of that company), unless he is to his knowledge (either directly or indirectly) the holder of or beneficially interested in one per cent or more of any class of the equity share capital of that company (calculated exclusive of any shares of that class in that company held as treasury shares) or of the voting rights available to members of that company;
any arrangement for the benefit of employees of our company or any of our subsidiary undertakings which only gives him benefits which are also generally given to employees to whom the arrangement relates;
any contract relating to insurance which our company is to buy or renew for the benefit of the directors or a group of people which includes directors; and
a contract relating to a pension, superannuation or similar scheme or a retirement, death, disability benefits scheme or employees’ share scheme which gives the director benefits which are also generally given to the employees to whom the scheme relates.
If a question arises at a meeting of the board or of a committee of the board as to the right of a director to vote or be counted in the quorum, and such question is not resolved by his voluntarily agreeing to abstain from voting or not to be counted in the quorum, the question shall be determined by the Chairman and his ruling in relation to any director other than himself shall be final and conclusive except in a case where the nature or extent of the interest of the director concerned has not been fairly disclosed. If the question arises about the Chairman, the question must be directed to the directors. The Chairman cannot vote on the question but can be counted in the quorum. The directors’ resolution about the chairman is final and conclusive, unless the nature and extent of the Chairman’s interests have not been fairly disclosed to the directors.
Directors’ Fees and Remuneration
Each of the directors shall be paid a fee at such rate as may from time to time be determined by the board (or for the avoidance of doubt any duly authorized committee of the board) provided that the aggregate of all such fees so paid to directors shall not exceed $2,500,000 per annum, or such higher amount as may from time to time be determined by ordinary resolution of the shareholders.
Each director may be paid his reasonable traveling, hotel and other expenses of attending and returning from meetings of the board or committees of the board or general meetings or separate meetings of the holders of any class of shares or of debentures and shall be paid all expenses properly incurred by him in the conduct of the Company’s business.
Any director who is appointed to any executive office or who serves on any committee or who devotes special attention to the business of our company, or who otherwise performs services which in the opinion of the directors are outside the scope of the ordinary duties of a director, may be paid such extra remuneration by way of salary, commissions, participation in profits or otherwise as the directors may determine.
Borrowing Powers
The board of directors may exercise all the powers to borrow money, provide any indemnity or guarantee, and to mortgage or charge our undertaking, property and assets (present or future) and uncalled capital or any part
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thereof, to create and issue debentures and other securities and to give security, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of us or of any third party.
Indemnity
Every director or other office of our group may be indemnified against all costs, charges, expenses, losses and liabilities sustained or incurred by them in connection with that director’s or officer’s duties or powers in relation to the Company or other members of our group. See also “Indemnification of directors and officers” in Part II below.
Other Relevant English Law Considerations
Mandatory Bid
We believe that, at the date of this prospectus, our place of central management and control is not in the United Kingdom (or the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) for the purposes of the jurisdictional criteria of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, we believe that we are currently not subject to the Takeover Code and, as a result, our shareholders are not currently entitled to benefit from certain takeover offer protections provided under the Takeover Code, including the rules regarding mandatory takeover bids (a summary of which is set out below). In the event that this changes, or if the interpretation or application of the Takeover Code by the Takeover Panel changes (including changes to the way in which the Takeover Panel assesses the application of the Takeover Code to English companies whose shares are listed outside the United Kingdom), the Takeover Code may apply to us in the future.
Under the Takeover Code, where:
any person, together with persons acting in concert with him, acquires, whether by a series of transactions over a period of time or not, an interest in shares which (taken together with shares in which he is already interested, and in which persons acting in concert with him are interested) carry 30% or more of the voting rights of a company; or
any person who, together with persons acting in concert with him, is interested in shares which in the aggregate carry not less than 30% of the voting rights of a company but does not hold shares carrying more than 50% of such voting rights and such person, or any person acting in concert with him, acquires an interest in any other shares which increases the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which he is interested,
such person shall, except in limited circumstances, be obliged to extend offers, on the basis set out in Rules 9.3 and 9.5 of the Takeover Code, to the holders of any class of equity share capital, whether voting or non-voting, and also to the holders of any other class of transferable securities carrying voting rights. Offers for different classes of equity share capital must be comparable; the Takeover Panel should be consulted in advance in such cases.
An offer under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code must be in cash or be accompanied by a cash alternative at not less than the highest price paid for any interest in the shares by the person required to make an offer or any person acting in concert with him during the 12 months prior to the announcement of the offer.
Under the Takeover Code, a “concert party” arises where persons acting together pursuant to an agreement or understanding (whether formal or informal and whether or not in writing) actively cooperate, through the acquisition by them of an interest in shares in a company, to obtain or consolidate control of the company. “Control” means holding, or aggregate holdings, of an interest in shares carrying 30% or more of the voting rights of the company, irrespective of whether the holding or holdings give de facto control.
Mandatory Purchases and Acquisitions
Pursuant to Sections 979 to 991 of the Companies Act, where a takeover offer has been made for us and the offeror has acquired or unconditionally contracted to acquire not less than 90% in value of the shares to which the offer relates and not less than 90% of the voting rights carried by those shares, the offeror may give notice to the holder of any shares to which the offer relates which the offeror has not acquired or unconditionally contracted to acquire that he wishes to acquire, and is entitled to so acquire, those shares on the same terms as the general offer. The offeror would do so by sending a notice to the outstanding minority shareholders telling them that it will compulsorily acquire their shares.
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Such notice must be sent within three months of the last day on which the offer can be accepted in the prescribed manner or if earlier, and the offer is not one to which section 943(1) of the Companies Act 2006 applies, within the period of six months beginning with the date of the offer. The squeeze out of the minority shareholders can be completed at the end of six weeks from the date the notice has been given, subject to the minority shareholders failing to successfully lodge an application to the court to prevent such squeeze out any time prior to the end of those six weeks following which the offeror can execute a transfer of the outstanding shares in its favor and pay the consideration to us, which would hold the consideration on trust for the outstanding minority shareholders. The consideration offered to the outstanding minority shareholders whose shares are compulsorily acquired under the Companies Act must, in general, be the same as the consideration that was available under the takeover offer.
Sell Out
The Companies Act also gives our minority shareholders a right to be bought out in certain circumstances by an offeror who has made a takeover offer for all of our shares. The holder of shares to which the offer relates, and who has not otherwise accepted the offer, may require the offeror to acquire his shares if, prior to the expiry of the acceptance period for such offer, (1) the offeror has acquired or unconditionally agreed to acquire not less than 90% in value of the voting shares, and (2) not less than 90% of the voting rights carried by those shares. The offeror may impose a time limit on the rights of minority shareholders to be bought out that is not less than three months after the end of the acceptance period. If a shareholder exercises his rights to be bought out, the offeror is required to acquire those shares on the terms of this offer or on such other terms as may be agreed.
Disclosure of Interest in Shares
Pursuant to Part 22 of the Companies Act and our articles of association, we are empowered by notice in writing to any person whom we know or have reasonable cause to believe to be interested in our shares, or at any time during the three years immediately preceding the date on which the notice is issued has been so interested, within a reasonable time to disclose to us particulars of that person’s interest and (so far as is within his knowledge) particulars of any other interest that subsists or subsisted in those shares.
Under our articles of association, if a person defaults in supplying us with the required particulars in relation to the shares in question, or default shares, within the prescribed period, the directors may by notice direct that:
in respect of the default shares, the relevant shareholder shall not be entitled to vote (either in person or by representative or proxy) at any general meeting or to exercise any other right conferred by a shareholding in relation to general meetings; and
where the default shares represent at least 0.25% in nominal value of the issued shares of their class, (a) any dividend or other money payable in respect of the default shares shall be retained by us without liability to pay interest and/or (b) no transfers by the relevant shareholder of any default shares may be registered (unless the shareholder himself is not in default and the shareholder provides a certificate, in a form satisfactory to the directors, to the effect that after due and careful enquiry the shareholder is satisfied that none of the shares to be transferred are default shares).
Purchase of Own Shares
Under the laws of England and Wales, a limited company may only purchase its own shares out of the distributable profits of the Company or the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of financing the purchase, subject to complying with procedural requirements under the Companies Act and provided that they are not restricted from doing so by their articles of association. A limited company may not purchase its own shares if, as a result of the purchase, there would no longer be any issued shares of the Company other than redeemable shares or shares held as treasury shares. Shares must be fully paid in order to be repurchased.
Any such purchase will be either a “market purchase” or “off market purchase,” each as defined in the Companies Act. A “market purchase” is a purchase made on a “recognized investment exchange” (other than an overseas exchange) as defined in the U.K. Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended, or FSMA. An “off market purchase” is a purchase that is not made on a “recognized investment exchange.” Both “market purchases” and “off market purchases” require prior shareholder approval by way of an ordinary resolution. In the case of an “off market purchase,” a company’s shareholders, other than the shareholders from whom the
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company is purchasing shares, must approve the terms of the contract to purchase shares and in the case of a “market purchase,” the shareholders must approve the maximum number of shares that can be purchased and the maximum and minimum prices to be paid by the company. Both resolutions authorizing “market purchases” and “off-market purchases” must specify a date, not later than five years after the passing of the resolution, on which the authority to purchase is to expire.
A share buy-back by a company of its shares will give rise to U.K. stamp duty reserve tax and stamp duty at the rate of 0.5% of the amount or value of the consideration payable by the company (rounded up to the next £5.00), and such stamp duty reserve tax or stamp duty will be paid by the company. The charge to stamp duty reserve tax will be cancelled or, if already paid, repaid (generally with interest), where a transfer instrument for stamp duty purposes has been duly stamped within six years of the charge arising (either by paying the stamp duty or by claiming an appropriate relief) or if the instrument is otherwise exempt from stamp duty.
Nasdaq is an “overseas exchange” for the purposes of the Companies Act and does not fall within the definition of a “recognized investment exchange” for the purposes of FSMA and any purchase made by us would need to comply with the procedural requirements under the Companies Act that regulate “off market purchases.”
On January 26, 2021, our shareholders (other than the Gates Foundation) approved the form of a share buy-back contract in respect of a proposed “off market purchase” by us of certain shares in our share capital held by the Gates Foundation, with such contract to be entered into by us and the Gates Foundation on a future date. This is to enable us to comply with our obligations in the event we are required to repurchase for cash all of the Gates Foundation’s shares pursuant to our amended global access commitments agreement with the Gates Foundation.
Distributions and Dividends
Under the Companies Act, before a company can lawfully make a distribution or dividend, it must ensure that it has sufficient distributable reserves (on a non-consolidated basis). The basic rule is that a company’s profits available for the purpose of making a distribution are its accumulated, realized profits, so far as not previously utilized by distribution or capitalization, less its accumulated, realized losses, so far as not previously written off in a reduction or reorganization of capital duly made. The requirement to have sufficient distributable reserves before a distribution or dividend can be paid applies to us and to each of our subsidiaries that has been incorporated under the laws of England and Wales.
It is not sufficient that we, as a public company, have made a distributable profit for the purpose of making a distribution. An additional capital maintenance requirement is imposed on us to ensure that the net worth of the Company is at least equal to the amount of its capital. A public company can only make a distribution:
if, at the time that the distribution is made, the amount of its net assets (that is, the total excess of assets over liabilities) is not less than the total of its called up share capital and undistributable reserves; and
if, and to the extent that, the distribution itself, at the time that it is made, does not reduce the amount of the net assets to less than that total.
Shareholder Rights
Certain rights granted under the Companies Act, including the right to requisition a general meeting or require a resolution to be put to shareholders at the annual general meeting, are only available to our shareholders. For English law purposes, our shareholders are the persons who are registered as the owners of the legal title to the shares and whose names are recorded in our share register. If a person who holds their ADSs in DTC wishes to exercise certain of the rights granted under the Companies Act, they may be required to first take steps to withdraw their ADSs from the settlement system operated by DTC and become the registered holder of the shares in our share register. A withdrawal of shares from DTC may have tax implications.
Exchange Controls
There are no governmental laws, decrees, regulations or other legislation in the United Kingdom that may affect the import or export of capital, including the availability of cash and cash equivalents for use by us, or that may affect the remittance of dividends, interest, or other payments by us to non-resident holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs representing our ordinary shares, other than withholding tax requirements. There is no limitation imposed by the laws of England and Wales or in the articles of association on the right of non-residents to hold or vote shares.
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Differences in Corporate Law
The applicable provisions of the Companies Act differ from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware relating to shareholders’ rights and protections. This summary is not intended to be a complete discussion of the respective rights and it is qualified in its entirety by reference to Delaware law and the laws of England and Wales.
 
ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
Number of Directors
Under the Companies Act, a public limited company must have at least two directors and the number of directors may be fixed by or in the manner provided in a company’s articles of association.
Under Delaware law, a corporation must have at least one director and the number of directors shall be fixed by or in the manner provided in the bylaws.
 
 
 
Removal of Directors
Under the Companies Act, shareholders may remove a director without cause by an ordinary resolution (which is passed by a simple majority of those voting in person or by proxy at a general meeting) irrespective of any provisions of any service contract the director has with the Company, provided 28 clear days’ notice of the resolution has been given to the Company and its shareholders. On receipt of notice of an intended resolution to remove a director, the Company must forthwith send a copy of the notice to the director concerned. Certain other procedural requirements under the. Companies Act must also be followed such as allowing the director to make representations against his or her removal either at the meeting or in writing.
Under Delaware law, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, except (a) unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise, in the case of a corporation whose board of directors is classified, shareholders may effect such removal only for cause, or (b) in the case of a corporation having cumulative voting, if less than the entire board of directors is to be removed, no director may be removed without cause if the votes cast against his removal would be sufficient to elect him if then cumulatively voted at an election of the entire board of directors, or, if there are classes of directors, at an election of the class of directors of which he is a part.
 
 
 
Vacancies on the Board of Directors
Under the laws of England and Wales, the procedure by which directors, other than a company’s initial directors, are appointed is generally set out in a company’s articles of association, provided that where two or more persons are appointed as directors of a public limited company by resolution of the shareholders, resolutions appointing each director must be voted on individually.
Under Delaware law, vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office (even though less than a quorum) or by a sole remaining director unless (a) otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the corporation or (b) the certificate of incorporation directs that a particular class of stock is to elect such director, in which case a majority of the other directors elected by such class, or a sole remaining director elected.
 
 
 
Annual General Meeting
Under the Companies Act, a public limited company must hold an annual general meeting in each six-month period following its annual accounting reference date.
Under Delaware law, the annual meeting of stockholders shall be held at such place, on such date and at such time as may be designated from time to time by the board of directors or as provided in the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
General Meeting
Under the Companies Act, a general meeting of the shareholders of a public limited company may be called by the directors.
Under Delaware law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called by the board of directors or by such person or persons as may be authorized by the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.
 
 
 
 
Shareholders holding at least 5% of the paid-up capital of the Company carrying voting rights at general meetings (excluding any paid up capital held as treasury shares) can require the directors to call a general meeting and, if the directors fail to do so within a certain period, may themselves (or any of them representing more than one half of the total voting rights of all of them) convene a general meeting.
 
 
 
 
Notice of General Meetings
Subject to a company’s articles of association providing for a longer period, under the Companies Act, 21 clear days’ notice must be given for an annual general meeting and any resolutions to be proposed at the meeting. Subject to a company’s articles of association providing for a longer period, at least 14 clear days’ notice is required for any other general meeting. In addition, certain matters, such as the removal of directors or auditors, require special notice, which is 28 clear days’ notice. The shareholders of a company may in all cases consent to a shorter notice period, the proportion of shareholders’ consent required being 100% of those entitled to attend and vote in the case of an annual general meeting and, in the case of any other general meeting, a majority in number of the members having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, being a majority who together hold not less than 95% in nominal value of the shares giving a right to attend and vote at the meeting.
Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, written notice of any meeting of the stockholders must be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at the meeting not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour, and purpose or purposes of the meeting.
 
 
 
Quorum
Subject to the provisions of a company’s articles of association, the Companies Act provides that two shareholders present at a meeting (in person, by proxy or authorized representative under the Companies Act) shall constitute a quorum for companies with more than one member.
The certificate of incorporation or bylaws may specify the number of shares, the holders of which shall be present or represented by proxy at any meeting in order to constitute a quorum, but in no event shall a quorum consist of less than one third of the shares entitled to vote at the meeting. In the absence of suchspecification in the certificate of
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
 
 
incorporation or bylaws, a majority of the shares entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of stockholders.
 
 
 
Proxy
Under the Companies Act, at any meeting of shareholders, a shareholder may designate another person to attend, speak and vote at the meeting on their behalf by proxy.
Under Delaware law, at any meeting of stockholders, a stockholder may designate another person to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A director of a Delaware corporation may not issue a proxy representing the director’s voting rights as a director.
 
 
 
Preemptive Rights
Under the Companies Act, “equity securities,” being (1) shares in the Company other than shares that, with respect to dividends and capital, carry a right to participate only up to a specified amount in a distribution, referred to as “ordinary shares,” or (2) rights to subscribe for, or to convert securities into, ordinary shares, proposed to be allotted for cash must be offered first to the existing equity shareholders in the Company in proportion to the respective nominal value of their holdings, unless an exception applies or a special resolution to the contrary has been passed by shareholders in a general meeting or the articles of association provide otherwise in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act.
Under Delaware law, shareholders have no preemptive rights to subscribe to additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and except to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the certificate of incorporation.
 
 
 
Authority to Allot
Under the Companies Act, the directors of a company must not allot shares or grant of rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares unless an exception applies or an ordinary resolution to the contrary has been passed by shareholders in a general meeting or the articles of association provide otherwise in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act.
Under Delaware law, if the corporation’s charter or certificate of incorporation so provides, the board of directors has the power to authorize the issuance of stock. It may authorize capital stock to be issued for consideration consisting of cash, any tangible or intangible property or any benefit to the corporation or any combination thereof. It may determine the amount of such consideration by approving a formula. In the absence of actual fraud in the transaction, the judgment of the directors as to the value of such consideration is conclusive.
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
Liability of Directors and Officers
Under the Companies Act, any provision, whether contained in a company’s articles of association or any contract or otherwise, that purports to exempt a director of a company, to any extent, from any liability that would otherwise attach to him in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the Company is void.

Any provision by which a company directly or indirectly provides an indemnity, to any extent, for a director of the Company or of an associated company against any liability attaching to him in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the Company of which he is a director is also void except as permitted by the Companies Act, which provides exceptions for the Company to (a) purchase and maintain insurance against such liability; (b) provide a “qualifying third party indemnity” (being an indemnity against liability incurred by the director to a person other than the Company or an associated company or criminal proceedings in which he is convicted); and (c) provide a “qualifying pension scheme indemnity” (being an indemnity against liability incurred in connection with our activities as trustee of an occupational pension plan).
Under Delaware law, a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may include a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation and its stockholders for damages arising from a breach of fiduciary duty as a director. However, no provision can limit the liability of a director for:

• any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders

• acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

• intentional or negligent payment of unlawful dividends or stock purchases or redemptions; or

• any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit.
 
 
 
Voting Rights
For a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, it is usual for the articles of association to provide that, unless a poll is demanded by the shareholders of a company or is required by the chairman of the meeting or our articles of association, shareholders shall vote on all resolutions on a show of hands. Under the Companies Act, a poll may be demanded by (a) not fewer than five shareholders having the right to vote on the resolution; (b) any shareholder(s) representing not less than 10% of the total voting rights of all the shareholders having the right to vote on the resolution (excluding any voting rights attaching to treasury shares); or (c) any shareholder(s) holding shares in the Company conferring a right to vote on the resolution
Delaware law provides that, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
 
(excluding any voting rights attaching to treasury shares) being shares on which an aggregate sum has been paid up equal to not less than 10% of the total sum paid up on all the shares conferring that right. A company’s articles of association may provide more extensive rights for shareholders to call a poll.
 
 
 
 
 
Under the laws of England and Wales, an ordinary resolution is passed on a show of hands if it is approved by a simple majority (more than 50%) of the votes cast by shareholders present (in person or by proxy) and entitled to vote. If a poll is demanded, an ordinary resolution is passed if it is approved by holders representing a simple majority of the total voting rights of shareholders present, in person or by proxy, who, being entitled to vote, vote on the resolution. Special resolutions require the affirmative vote of not less than 75% of the votes cast by shareholders present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting. If a poll is demanded, a special resolution is passed if it is approved by holders representing not less than 75% of the total voting rights of shareholders in person or by proxy who, being entitled to vote, vote on the resolution.
 
 
 
 
Shareholder Vote on Certain Transactions
The Companies Act provides for schemes of arrangement, which are arrangements or compromises between a company and any class of shareholders or creditors and used in certain types of reconstructions, amalgamations, capital reorganizations, or takeovers. These arrangements require:

• the approval at a shareholders’ or creditors’ meeting convened by order of the court, of a majority in number of shareholders or creditors or a class thereof representing 75% in value of the capital held by, or debt owed to, the class of shareholders or creditors, or class thereof present and voting, either in person or by proxy; and

• the approval of the court.
Generally, under Delaware law, unless the certificate of incorporation provides for the vote of a larger portion of the stock, completion of a merger, consolidation, sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of a corporation’s assets or dissolution requires:

• the approval of the board of directors; and

• the approval by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding stock or, if the certificate of incorporation provides for more or less than one vote per share, a majority of the votes of the outstanding stock of the corporation entitled to vote on the matter.
 
 
 
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
Standard of Conduct for Directors
Under the laws of England and Wales, a director owes various statutory and fiduciary duties to the company, including:

• to act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and

in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to: (i) the likely consequences of any decision in the long-term, (ii) the interests of the company’s employees, (iii) the need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others, (iv) the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment, (v) the desirability to maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct, and (vi) the need to act fairly as between members of the company;

• to avoid a situation in which he has, or can have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly conflicts, with the interests of the Company;

• to act in accordance with our constitution and only exercise his powers for the purposes for which they are conferred;

• to exercise independent judgment;

• to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence;

• not to accept benefits from a third party conferred by reason of his being a director or doing, or not doing, anything as a director; and

• to declare any interest that he has, whether directly or indirectly, in a proposed or existing transaction or arrangement with the company.
Delaware law does not contain specific provisions setting forth the standard of conduct of a director. The scope of the fiduciary duties of directors is generally determined by the courts of the State of Delaware. In general, directors have a duty to act without self-interest, on a well-informed basis and in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interest of the stockholders.

Directors of a Delaware corporation owe fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and to its shareholders. The duty of care generally requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. In general, but subject to certain exceptions, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Delaware courts have also imposed a heightened standard of conduct upon directors of a Delaware corporation who take any action designed to defeat a threatened change in control of the corporation.

In addition, under Delaware law, when the board of directors of a Delaware corporation approves the sale or break-up of a corporation, the board of directors may, in certain circumstances, have a duty to obtain the highest value reasonably available to the shareholders.
 
 
 
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ENGLAND & WALES
DELAWARE
Shareholder Litigation
Under the laws of England and Wales, generally, the Company, rather than its shareholders, is the proper claimant in an action in respect of a wrong done to the Company or where there is an irregularity in the Company’s internal management. Notwithstanding this general position, the Companies Act provides that (1) a court may allow a shareholder to bring a derivative claim (that is, an action in respect of and on behalf of the Company) in respect of a cause of action arising from a director’s negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust and (2) a shareholder may bring a claim for a court order where our affairs have been or are being conducted in a manner that is unfairly prejudicial to some of its shareholders.
Under Delaware law, a stockholder may initiate a derivative action to enforce a right of a corporation if the corporation fails to enforce the right itself. The complaint must:

• state that the plaintiff was a stockholder at the time of the transaction of which the plaintiff complains or that the plaintiff’s shares thereafter devolved on the plaintiff by operation of law; and

• allege with particularity the efforts made by the plaintiff to obtain the action the plaintiff desires from the directors and the reasons for the plaintiff’s failure to obtain the action; or

• state the reasons for not making the effort.

Additionally, the plaintiff must remain a stockholder through the duration of the derivative suit. The action will not be dismissed or compromised without the approval of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Registrar of Shares; Depositary for ADSs
Our share register is maintained by Computershare Investor Services plc. The share register reflects only registered holders of our voting ordinary shares. Our voting ordinary shares and our non-voting ordinary shares are not listed for trading on any securities exchange and we do not plan to list our voting ordinary shares or the non-voting ordinary shares on any securities exchange.
Holders of ADSs representing our ordinary shares are not treated as our shareholders and their names will therefore not be entered in our share register. Citibank, N.A., acts as the depositary for the ADSs representing our ordinary shares and the custodian for ordinary shares represented by ADSs is Citibank, N.A., London Branch. Holders of ADSs representing our ordinary shares have a right to receive the ordinary shares underlying such ADSs. For discussion on ADSs representing our ordinary shares and rights of ADS holders, see the section titled “Description of American Depositary Shares.”
Nasdaq Global Select Market Listing
Our ADSs are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “IMCR.”
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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
American Depositary Shares
Citibank, N.A., or Citibank, is the depositary for the ADSs representing our ordinary shares. Citibank’s depositary offices are located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013. ADSs represent ownership interests in securities that are on deposit with the depositary. ADSs may be represented by certificates that are commonly known as American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs. The depositary typically appoints a custodian to safekeep the securities on deposit. In this case, the custodian is Citibank, N.A., London Branch located at 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5LB, United Kingdom.
We have appointed Citibank as depositary pursuant to a deposit agreement. The form of the deposit agreement is on file with the SEC under cover of a registration statement on Form F-6. You may obtain a copy of the deposit agreement from the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549 and from the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Please refer to registration number 333-252487 when retrieving such copy.
We are providing you with a summary description of the material terms of the ADSs and of your material rights as an owner of ADSs. Please remember that summaries by their nature lack the precision of the information summarized and that the rights and obligations of an owner of ADSs will be determined by reference to the terms of the deposit agreement and not by this summary. We urge you to review the deposit agreement in its entirety. The portions of this summary description that are italicized describe matters that may be relevant to the ownership of ADSs but that may not be contained in the deposit agreement.
Each ADS represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, one ordinary share that is on deposit with the depositary or custodian. An ADS also represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial interests in, any other property received by the depositary or the custodian on behalf of the owner of the ADS but that has not been distributed to the owners of ADSs because of legal restrictions or practical considerations. We and the depositary may agree to change the ADS-to-ordinary share ratio by amending the deposit agreement. This amendment may give rise to, or change, the depositary fees payable by ADS owners. The custodian, the depositary and their respective nominees will hold all deposited property for the benefit of the holders and beneficial owners of ADSs. The deposited property does not constitute the proprietary assets of the depositary, the custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in the deposited property will under the terms of the deposit agreement be vested in the beneficial owners of the ADSs. The depositary, the custodian and their respective nominees will be the record holders of the deposited property represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the holders and beneficial owners of the corresponding ADSs. A beneficial owner of ADSs may or may not be the holder of ADSs. Beneficial owners of ADSs will be able to receive, and to exercise beneficial ownership interests in, the deposited property only through the registered holders of the ADSs, the registered holders of the ADSs (on behalf of the applicable ADS owners) only through the depositary, and the depositary (on behalf of the owners of the corresponding ADSs) directly, or indirectly, through the custodian or their respective nominees, in each case upon the terms of the deposit agreement.
If you become an owner of ADSs, you will become a party to the deposit agreement and therefore will be bound to its terms and to the terms of any ADR that represents your ADSs. The deposit agreement and the ADR specify our rights and obligations as well as your rights and obligations as owner of ADSs and those of the depositary. As an ADS holder you appoint the depositary to act on your behalf in certain circumstances. The deposit agreement and the ADRs and ADSs are governed by New York law. However, our obligations to the holders of ordinary shares will continue to be governed by the laws of England and Wales, which may be different from the laws in the United States.
In addition, applicable laws and regulations may require you to satisfy reporting requirements and obtain regulatory approvals in certain circumstances. You are solely responsible for complying with such reporting requirements and obtaining such approvals. None of the depositary, the custodian, us or any of their or our respective agents or affiliates shall be required to take any actions whatsoever on your behalf to satisfy such reporting requirements or obtain such regulatory approvals under applicable laws and regulations. You agree to comply with information requests from us pursuant to applicable laws, stock exchange rules and our articles of association. We may restrict transfers of ADSs and take other actions necessary to comply with any applicable ownership restrictions.
As an owner of ADSs, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have direct shareholder rights. The depositary will hold on your behalf the shareholder rights attached to the ordinary shares underlying
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your ADSs. As an owner of ADSs you will be able to exercise the shareholders rights for the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs through the depositary only to the extent contemplated in the deposit agreement. To exercise any shareholder rights not contemplated in the deposit agreement you will, as an ADS owner, need to arrange for the cancellation of your ADSs and become a direct shareholder.
The manner in which you own the ADSs (e.g., in a brokerage account versus as a registered holder, or as a holder of certificated versus uncertificated ADSs) may affect your rights and obligations, and the manner in which, and extent to which, the depositary’s services are made available to you.
As an owner of ADSs, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have direct shareholder rights. The depositary will hold on your behalf the shareholder rights attached to the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. As an owner of ADSs, you will be able to exercise the shareholders rights for the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs through the depositary only to the extent contemplated in the deposit agreement. To exercise any shareholder rights not contemplated in the deposit agreement you will, as an ADS owner, need to arrange for the cancellation of your ADSs and become a direct shareholder.
As an owner of ADSs, you may hold your ADSs either by means of an ADR registered in your name, through a brokerage or safekeeping account, or through an account established by the depositary in your name reflecting the registration of uncertificated ADSs directly on the books of the depositary (commonly referred to as the direct registration system or DRS). The direct registration system reflects the uncertificated (book-entry) registration of ownership of ADSs by the depositary. Under the direct registration system, ownership of ADSs is evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the holders of the ADSs. The direct registration system includes automated transfers between the depositary and The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, the central book-entry clearing and settlement system for equity securities in the United States. If you decide to hold your ADSs through your brokerage or safekeeping account, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or bank to assert your rights as ADS owner. Banks and brokers typically hold securities such as the ADSs through clearing and settlement systems such as DTC. The procedures of such clearing and settlement systems may limit your ability to exercise your rights as an owner of ADSs. Please consult with your broker or bank if you have any questions concerning these limitations and procedures. All ADSs held through DTC will be registered in the name of a nominee of DTC, which nominee will be the only “holder” of such ADSs for purposes of the deposit agreement and any applicable ADR. This summary description assumes you have opted to own the ADSs directly by means of an ADS registered in your name and, as such, we will refer to you as the “holder.” When we refer to “you,” we assume the reader owns ADSs and will own ADSs at the relevant time.
The registration of the ordinary shares in the name of the depositary or the custodian shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, vest in the depositary or the custodian the record ownership in the applicable ordinary shares with the beneficial ownership rights and interests in such ordinary shares being at all times vested with the beneficial owners of the ADSs representing the ordinary shares. The depositary or the custodian shall at all times be entitled to exercise the beneficial ownership rights in all deposited property, in each case only on behalf of the holders and beneficial owners of the ADSs representing the deposited property.
Dividends and Other Distributions
As a holder of ADSs, you generally have the right to receive the distributions we make on the securities deposited with the custodian. Your receipt of these distributions may be limited, however, by practical considerations and legal limitations. Holders of ADSs will receive such distributions under the terms of the deposit agreement in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the specified record date, after deduction the applicable fees, taxes and expenses.
Distributions of Cash
Whenever we make a cash distribution for the securities on deposit with the custodian, we will deposit the funds with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of the deposit of the requisite funds, the depositary will arrange for the funds received in a currency other than U.S. dollars to be converted into U.S. dollars and for the distribution of the U.S. dollars to the holders, subject to the laws and regulations of England and Wales. The conversion into U.S. dollars will take place only if practicable and if the U.S. dollars are transferable to the United States. The depositary will apply the same method for distributing the proceeds of the sale of any property (such as undistributed rights) held by the custodian in respect of securities on deposit.
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The distribution of cash will be made net of the fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. The depositary will hold any cash amounts it is unable to distribute in a non-interest bearing account for the benefit of the applicable holders and beneficial owners of ADSs until the distribution can be effected or the funds that the depositary holds must be escheated as unclaimed property in accordance with the laws of the relevant states of the United States.
Distributions of Shares
Whenever we make a free distribution of ordinary shares for the securities on deposit with the custodian, we will deposit the applicable number of ordinary shares with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit, the depositary will either distribute to holders new ADSs representing the ordinary shares deposited or modify the ADS-to-ordinary shares ratio, in which case each ADS you hold will represent rights and interests in the additional ordinary shares so deposited. Only whole new ADSs will be distributed. Fractional entitlements will be sold and the proceeds of such sale will be distributed as in the case of a cash distribution.
The distribution of new ADSs or the modification of the ADS-to-ordinary shares ratio upon a distribution of ordinary shares will be made net of the fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. In order to pay such taxes or governmental charges, the depositary may sell all or a portion of the new ordinary shares so distributed.
No such distribution of new ADSs will be made if it would violate a law (e.g., the U.S. securities laws) or if it is not operationally practicable. If the depositary does not distribute new ADSs as described above, it may sell the ordinary shares received upon the terms described in the deposit agreement and will distribute the proceeds of the sale as in the case of a distribution of cash.
Distributions of Rights
Whenever we intend to distribute rights to purchase additional ordinary shares, we will give prior notice to the depositary and we will assist the depositary in determining whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs to holders.
The depositary will establish procedures to distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs to holders and to enable such holders to exercise such rights if it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make the rights available to holders of ADSs, and if we provide all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement (such as opinions to address the lawfulness of the transaction). You may have to pay fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges to subscribe for the new ADSs upon the exercise of your rights. The depositary is not obligated to establish procedures to facilitate the distribution and exercise by holders of rights to purchase new ordinary shares other represented by ADSs.
The depositary will not distribute the rights to you if:
we do not timely request that the rights be distributed to you or we request that the rights not be distributed to you; or
we fail to deliver satisfactory documents to the depositary; or
it is not reasonably practicable to distribute the rights.
The depositary will sell the rights that are not exercised or not distributed if such sale is lawful and reasonably practicable. The proceeds of such sale will be distributed to holders as in the case of a cash distribution. If the depositary is unable to sell the rights, it will allow the rights to lapse.
Elective Distributions
Whenever we intend to distribute a dividend payable at the election of shareholders either in cash or in additional ordinary shares, we will give prior notice thereof to the depositary and will indicate whether we wish the elective distribution to be made available to you. In such case, we will assist the depositary in determining whether such distribution is lawful and reasonably practicable.
The depositary will make the election available to you only if it is reasonably practicable and if we have provided all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement. In such case, the depositary will establish procedures to enable you to elect to receive either cash or additional ADSs, in each case as described in the deposit agreement.
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If the election is not made available to you, you will receive either cash or additional ADSs, depending on what a shareholder in England and Wales would receive upon failing to make an election, as more fully described in the deposit agreement.
Other Distributions
Whenever we intend to distribute property other than cash, ordinary shares or rights to purchase additional ordinary shares, we will notify the depositary in advance and will indicate whether we wish such distribution to be made to you. If so, we will assist the depositary in determining whether such distribution to holders is lawful and reasonably practicable.
If it is reasonably practicable to distribute such property to you and if we provide all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement, the depositary will distribute the property to the holders in a manner it deems practicable.
The distribution will be made net of fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. In order to pay such taxes and governmental charges, the depositary may sell all or a portion of the property received.
The depositary will not distribute the property to you and will sell the property if:
we do not request that the property be distributed to you or if we ask that the property not be distributed to you; or
we do not deliver satisfactory documents to the depositary; or
the depositary determines that all or a portion of the distribution to you is not reasonably practicable.
The proceeds of such a sale will be distributed to holders as in the case of a cash distribution.
Redemption
Whenever we decide to redeem any of the securities on deposit with the custodian, we will notify the depositary in advance. If it is practicable and if we provide all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement, the depositary will provide notice of the redemption to the holders.
The custodian will be instructed to surrender the ordinary shares being redeemed against payment of the applicable redemption price. The depositary will convert the redemption funds received into U.S. dollars upon the terms of the deposit agreement and will establish procedures to enable holders to receive the net proceeds from the redemption upon surrender of their ADSs to the depositary. You may have to pay fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges upon the redemption of your ADSs. If less than all ADSs are being redeemed, the ADSs to be retired will be selected by lot or on a pro rata basis, as the depositary may determine.
Changes Affecting Ordinary Shares
The ordinary shares held on deposit for your ADSs may change from time to time. For example, there may be a change in nominal value, sub-division, cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of such ordinary shares or a recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets of our company.
If any such change were to occur, your ADSs would, to the extent permitted by law and the deposit agreement, represent the right to receive the property received or exchanged in respect of the ordinary shares held on deposit. The depositary may in such circumstances deliver new ADSs to you, amend the deposit agreement, the ADRs and the applicable registration statement(s) on Form F-6, call for the exchange of your existing ADSs for new ADSs and take any other actions that are appropriate to reflect as to the ADSs the change affecting the ordinary shares. If the depositary may not lawfully distribute such property to you, the depositary may sell such property and distribute the net proceeds to you as in the case of a cash distribution.
Issuance of ADSs upon Deposit of Ordinary Shares
After the completion of the offering, the ordinary shares being offered pursuant to this prospectus will be deposited by us with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit, the depositary will issue ADSs to the underwriters named in this prospectus.
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After the completion of this offering, the depositary may also create ADSs on your behalf if you or your broker deposit ordinary shares with the custodian. The depositary will deliver these ADSs to the person you indicate only after you pay any applicable issuance fees and any charges and taxes payable for the transfer of the ordinary shares to the custodian and provide such documentation as may be required pursuant to the deposit agreement. Your ability to deposit ordinary shares and receive ADSs may be limited by legal considerations under the laws of the United States and England and Wales applicable at the time of deposit.
The issuance of ADSs may be delayed until the depositary or the custodian receives confirmation that all required approvals have been given and that the ordinary shares have been duly transferred to the custodian. The depositary will only issue ADSs in whole numbers.
When you make a deposit of ordinary shares, you will be responsible for transferring good and valid title to the depositary. As such, you will be deemed to represent and warrant that:
the ordinary shares are duly authorized, validly allotted and issued, fully paid, not subject to any call for the payment of further capital and legally obtained;
all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such ordinary shares have been validly waived, disapplied or exercised;
you are duly authorized to deposit the ordinary shares;
the ordinary shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim, and are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not be, “restricted securities” (as defined in the deposit agreement); and
the ordinary shares presented for deposit have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements.
If any of the representations or warranties are incorrect in any way, we and the depositary may, at your cost and expense, take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences of the misrepresentations.
Transfer, Combination and Split Up of ADRs
As an ADR holder, you will be entitled to transfer, combine or split up your ADRs and the ADSs evidenced thereby. For transfers of ADRs, you will have to surrender the ADRs to be transferred to the depositary and also must:
ensure that the surrendered ADR is properly endorsed or otherwise in proper form for transfer;
provide such proof of identity and genuineness of signatures, and of such other matters contemplated in the deposit agreement, as the depositary deems appropriate;
comply with applicable laws and regulations, including regulations imposed by us and the depositary consistent with the deposit agreement, the ADR and applicable law;
provide any transfer stamps required by the State of New York or the United States; and
pay all applicable fees, charges, expenses, taxes and other government charges payable by ADR holders pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, upon the transfer of ADRs.
To have your ADRs either combined or split up, you must surrender the ADRs in question to the depositary with your request to have them combined or split up, and you must pay all applicable fees, charges and expenses payable by ADR holders, pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, upon a combination or split up of ADRs.
Withdrawal of Ordinary Shares Upon Cancellation of ADSs
As a holder of ADSs, you will be entitled to present your ADSs to the depositary for cancellation and then receive the corresponding number of underlying ordinary shares at the custodian’s offices. Your ability to withdraw the ordinary shares held in respect of the ADSs may be limited by legal considerations under the laws of the United States and England and Wales applicable at the time of withdrawal. In order to withdraw the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs, you will be required to pay to the depositary the fees for cancellation of ADSs and any charges and taxes payable upon the transfer of the ordinary shares. You assume the risk for delivery of all funds and securities upon withdrawal. Once canceled, the ADSs will not have any rights under the
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deposit agreement. If you hold ADSs registered in your name, the depositary may ask you to provide proof of identity and genuineness of any signature and such other documents as the depositary may deem appropriate before it will cancel your ADSs. The withdrawal of the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs may be delayed until the depositary receives satisfactory evidence of compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Please keep in mind that the depositary will only accept ADSs for cancellation that represent a whole number of securities on deposit.
You will have the right to withdraw the securities represented by your ADSs at any time except as a result of:
temporary delays that may arise because (1) the transfer books for the ordinary shares or ADSs are closed, or (2) ordinary shares are immobilized on account of a shareholders’ meeting or a payment of dividends;
obligations to pay fees, taxes and similar charges; or
restrictions imposed because of laws or regulations applicable to ADSs or the withdrawal of securities on deposit.
The deposit agreement may not be modified to impair your right to withdraw the securities represented by your ADSs except to comply with mandatory provisions of law.
Voting Rights
As a holder, you generally have the right under the deposit agreement to instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights for the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. The voting rights of holders of ordinary shares are described in the section titled “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association” in this prospectus.
At our request, the depositary will distribute to you any notice of shareholders’ meeting received from us together with information explaining how to instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights of the securities represented by ADSs.
If the depositary timely receives voting instructions from a holder of ADSs, it will endeavor to vote the securities (in person or by proxy) represented by the holder’s ADSs as follows:
In the event of voting by show of hands, the depositary will vote (or cause the custodian to vote) all ordinary shares held on deposit at that time in accordance with the voting instructions received from a majority of holders of ADSs who provide timely voting instructions.
In the event of voting by poll, the depositary will vote (or cause the custodian to vote) the ordinary shares held on deposit in accordance with the voting instructions received from the holders of ADSs.
Note that our articles of association currently provide for all resolutions to be decided as a poll, not a show of hands. The depositary will not join in demanding a vote by poll.
Securities for which no voting instructions have been received will not be voted (except (a) if voting is by show of hands, in which case the depositary will vote all deposited securities in accordance with voting instructions received from a majority of holders who provided voting instructions, and (b) as otherwise contemplated herein). Please note that the ability of the depositary to carry out voting instructions may be limited by practical and legal limitations and the terms of the securities on deposit. We cannot assure you that you will receive voting materials in time to enable you to return voting instructions to the depositary in a timely manner.
Fees and Charges
As an ADS holder, you will be required to pay the following fees under the terms of the deposit agreement:
SERVICE
FEE
Issuance of ADSs (e.g., an issuance of ADS upon a deposit of ordinary shares or upon a change in the ADS(s)-to-ordinary shares ratio, or for any other reason), excluding ADS issuances as a result of distributions of ordinary shares
Up to $0.05 per ADS issued
 
 
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SERVICE
FEE
Cancellation of ADSs (e.g., a cancellation of ADSs for delivery of deposited property or upon a change in the ADS(s)-to-ordinary shares ratio, or for any other reason)
Up to $0.05 per ADS cancelled
 
 
Distribution of cash dividends or other cash distributions (e.g., upon a sale of rights and other entitlements)
Up to $0.05 per ADS held
 
 
Distribution of ADSs pursuant to (i) share dividends or other distributions, or (ii) exercise of rights to purchase additional ADSs
Up to $0.05 per ADS held
 
 
Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs (e.g., upon a spin-off)
Up to $0.05 per ADS held
 
 
ADS services
Up to $0.05 per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary
 
 
Registration of ADS transfers (e.g., upon a registration of the transfer of registered ownership of ADSs, upon a transfer of ADSs into DTC and vice versa, or for any other reason).
Up to $0.05 per ADS transferred
 
 
Conversion of ADSs of one series for ADSs of another series (e.g., upon conversion of Partial Entitlement ADSs for Full Entitlement ADSs, or upon conversion of Restricted ADSs into freely transferrable ADSs, and vice versa)
Up to $0.05 per ADS converted
As an ADS holder, you will also be responsible to pay certain charges such as:
taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental charges;
the registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of ordinary shares on the share register and applicable to transfers of ordinary shares to or from the name of the custodian, the depositary or any nominees upon the making of deposits and withdrawals, respectively;
certain cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses;
the expenses and charges incurred by the depositary in the conversion of foreign currency;
the fees and expenses incurred by the depositary in connection with compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to ordinary shares, ADSs and ADRs;
any reasonable and customary out-of-pocket expenses incurred in such conversion and/or on behalf of the ADS holders and beneficial owners in complying with currency exchange control or other governmental requirements; and
the fees and expenses incurred by the depositary, the custodian or any nominee in connection with the servicing or delivery of deposited property.
ADS fees and charges payable upon (i) the issuance of ADSs, and (ii) the cancellation of ADSs are charged to the person to whom the ADSs are issued (in the case of ADS issuances) and to the person whose ADSs are cancelled (in the case of ADS cancellations). In the case of ADSs issued by the depositary into DTC, the ADS issuance and cancellation fees and charges may be deducted from distributions made through DTC, and may be charged to the DTC participant(s) receiving the ADSs being issued or the DTC participant(s) holding the ADSs being cancelled, as the case may be, on behalf of the beneficial owner(s) and will be charged by the DTC participant(s) to the account of the applicable beneficial owner(s) in accordance with the procedures and practices of the DTC participants as in effect at the time. ADS fees and charges in respect of distributions and the ADS service fee are charged to the holders as of the applicable ADS record date. In the case of distributions of cash, the amount of the applicable ADS fees and charges is deducted from the funds being distributed. In the case of
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(i) distributions other than cash and (ii) the ADS service fee, holders as of the ADS record date will be invoiced for the amount of the ADS fees and charges and such ADS fees and charges may be deducted from distributions made to holders of ADSs. For ADSs held through DTC, the ADS fees and charges for distributions other than cash and the ADS service fee may be deducted from distributions made through DTC, and may be charged to the DTC participants in accordance with the procedures and practices prescribed by DTC and the DTC participants in turn charge the amount of such ADS fees and charges to the beneficial owners for whom they hold ADSs.
In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees or charges, the depositary may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees and charges from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder. Certain depositary fees and charges (such as the ADS services fee) may become payable shortly after the closing of this offering. Note that the fees and charges you may be required to pay may vary over time and may be changed by us and by the depositary. You will receive prior notice of such changes. The depositary may reimburse us for certain expenses incurred by us in respect of the ADSs, by making available a portion of the ADS fees charged in respect of the ADSs or otherwise, upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary agree from time to time.
Amendments and Termination
We may agree with the depositary to modify the deposit agreement at any time without your consent. We undertake to give holders of ADSs 30 days’ prior notice of any modifications that would materially prejudice any of their substantial rights under the deposit agreement. We will not consider to be materially prejudicial to your substantial rights any modifications or supplements that are reasonably necessary for the ADSs to be registered under the Securities Act or to be eligible for book-entry settlement, in each case without imposing or increasing the fees and charges you are required to pay. In addition, we may not be able to provide you with prior notice of any modifications or supplements that are required to accommodate compliance with applicable provisions of law.
You will be bound by the modifications to the deposit agreement if you continue to hold your ADSs after the modifications to the deposit agreement become effective. The deposit agreement cannot be amended to prevent you from withdrawing the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs (except as permitted by law).
We have the right to direct the depositary to terminate the deposit agreement subject to certain conditions. Similarly, the depositary may in certain circumstances on its own initiative terminate the deposit agreement. In either case, the depositary must give notice to the holders at least 30 days before termination. Until termination, your rights under the deposit agreement will be unaffected.
After termination, the depositary will continue to collect distributions received (but will not distribute any such property until you request the cancellation of your ADSs) and may sell the securities held on deposit. After the sale, the depositary will hold the proceeds from such sale and any other funds then held for the holders of ADSs in a non-interest bearing account. At that point, the depositary will have no further obligations to ADS holders other than to account for the funds then held for the holders of ADSs still outstanding (after deduction of applicable fees, taxes and expenses).
In connection with the termination of the deposit agreement, the depositary may, but shall not be obligated to, independently and without the need for any action by us, make available to holders of ADSs a means to withdraw the ordinary shares and other deposited securities represented by their ADSs and to direct the deposit of such ordinary shares and other deposited securities into an unsponsored American depositary shares program established by the depositary, upon such terms and conditions as the depositary may deem reasonably appropriate, subject however, in each case, to satisfaction of the applicable registration requirements by the unsponsored American depositary shares program under the Securities Act, and to receipt by the depositary of payment of the applicable fees and charges of, and reimbursement of the applicable expenses incurred by, the depositary.
Books of Depositary
The depositary maintains ADS holder records at its depositary office. You may inspect such records at such office during regular business hours but solely for the purpose of communicating with other holders in the interest of business matters relating to the ADSs and the deposit agreement.
The depositary maintains in New York facilities to record and process the issuance, cancellation, combination, split-up and transfer of ADSs. These facilities may be closed from time to time, to the extent not prohibited by law.
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Transmission of Notices, Reports and Proxy Soliciting Material
The depositary will make available for your inspection at its office all communications that it receives from us as a holder of deposited securities that we make generally available to holders of deposited securities. Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, the depositary will send you copies of those communications or otherwise make those communications available to you if we ask it to.
Limitations on Obligations and Liabilities
The deposit agreement limits our obligations and the depositary’s obligations to you. Please note the following:
We and the depositary are obligated only to take the actions specifically stated in the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith.
The depositary disclaims any liability for any failure to carry out voting instructions, for any manner in which a vote is cast or for the effect of any vote, provided it acts in good faith and in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement.
The depositary disclaims any liability for any failure to accurately determine the lawfulness or practicality of any action, for the content of any document forwarded to you on our behalf or for the accuracy of any translation of such a document, for the investment risks associated with investing in ordinary shares, for the validity or worth of the ordinary shares, for any tax consequences that result from the ownership of ADSs or other deposited property, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse under the terms of the deposit agreement, for the timeliness of any of our notices or for our failure to give notice or for any act or omission of or information provided by DTC or any DTC participant.
The depositary shall not be liable for acts or omissions of any successor depositary in connection with any matter arising wholly after the resignation or removal of the depositary.
We and the depositary will not be obligated to perform any act that is inconsistent with the terms of the deposit agreement.
We and the depositary disclaim any liability if we or the depositary are prevented or forbidden from or subject to any civil or criminal penalty or restraint on account of, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the deposit agreement, by reason of any provision, present or future of any law or regulation, including regulations of any stock exchange or by reason of present or future provisions of our articles of association, or any provision of or governing the securities on deposit, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond our or the depositary’s control.
We and the depositary disclaim any liability by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the deposit agreement or in our articles of association or in any provisions of or governing the securities on deposit.
We and the depositary further disclaim any liability for any action or inaction in reliance on the advice or information received from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting ordinary shares for deposit, any holder of ADSs or authorized representatives thereof, or any other person believed by either of us in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information.
We and the depositary also disclaim liability for the inability by any ADS holder or beneficiary owner to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit that is made available to holders of ordinary shares but is not, under the terms of the deposit agreement, made available to you.
We and the depositary may rely without any liability upon any written notice, request or other document believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper parties.
We and the depositary also disclaim liability for any consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement.
We and the depositary disclaim liability arising out of losses, liabilities, taxes, charges or expenses resulting from the manner in which a holder or beneficial owner of ADSs holds ADSs, including resulting from holding ADSs through a brokerage account.
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No disclaimer of any Securities Act liability is intended by any provision of the deposit agreement.
Nothing in the deposit agreement gives rise to a partnership or joint venture, or establishes a fiduciary relationship, among us, the depositary and you as ADS holder.
Nothing in the deposit agreement precludes Citibank (or its affiliates) from engaging in transactions in which parties adverse to us or the ADS owners have interests, and nothing in the deposit agreement obligates Citibank to disclose those transactions, or any information obtained in the course of those transactions, to us or to the ADS owners, or to account for any payment received as part of those transactions.
As the above limitations relate to our obligations and the depositary’s obligations to you under the deposit agreement, we believe that, as a matter of construction of the clause, such limitations would likely to continue to apply to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares from the ADS facility with respect to obligations or liabilities incurred under the deposit agreement before the cancellation of the ADSs and the withdrawal of the ordinary shares, and such limitations would most likely not apply to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares from the ADS facility with respect to obligations or liabilities incurred after the cancellation of the ADSs and the withdrawal of the ordinary shares and not under the deposit agreement.
In any event, you will not be deemed, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. In fact, you cannot waive our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Taxes
As a Holder or Beneficial Owner of ADSs, you will be responsible for the taxes and other governmental charges payable on the ADSs and the securities represented by the ADSs as provided for in the deposit agreement. We, the depositary and the custodian may deduct from any distribution the taxes and governmental charges payable by Holders and Beneficial Owners (as defined in the deposit agreement) of ADSs and may sell any and all property on deposit to pay the taxes and governmental charges payable by ADS holders. As a Holder or Beneficial Owner of ADSs, you will be liable for any deficiency if the sale proceeds do not cover the taxes that are due. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we expect to bear the cost of stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax, if any, payable in respect of the issue of ordinary shares to the depositary in this offering.
The depositary may refuse to issue ADSs, to deliver, transfer, split and combine ADRs or to release securities on deposit until all taxes and charges are paid by the applicable Holder or Beneficial Owner (as defined in the deposit agreement) of ADSs. The depositary and the custodian may take reasonable administrative actions to obtain tax refunds and reduced tax withholding for any distributions on your behalf. However, you may be required to provide to the depositary and to the custodian proof of taxpayer status and residence and such other information as the depositary and the custodian may require to fulfill legal obligations. You are required to indemnify us, the depositary and the custodian for any claims with respect to taxes based on any tax benefit obtained for you.
Foreign Currency Conversion
The depositary will arrange for the conversion of all foreign currency received into U.S. dollars if such conversion is practical, and it will distribute the U.S. dollars in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement. You may have to pay fees and expenses incurred in converting foreign currency, such as fees and expenses incurred in complying with currency exchange controls and other governmental requirements.
If the conversion of foreign currency is not practical or lawful, or if any required approvals are denied or not obtainable at a reasonable cost or within a reasonable period, the depositary may take any of the following actions in its discretion:
Convert the foreign currency to the extent practical and lawful and distribute the U.S. dollars to the ADS holders for whom the conversion and distribution is lawful and practical.
Distribute the foreign currency to ADS holders for whom the distribution is lawful and practical.
Hold the foreign currency (without liability for interest) for the applicable ADS holders.
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Governing Law / Waiver of Jury Trial
The deposit agreement and the ADRs and ADSs will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. The rights of holders of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
As an owner of ADSs, you irrevocably agree that any legal action arising out of the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs or the ADRs, involving the Company or the Depositary, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in the city of New York.
AS A PARTY TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, YOU WAIVE IRREVOCABLY YOUR RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR THE ADSs AGAINST US AND/OR THE DEPOSITARY.
The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our ordinary shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law. However, you will not be deemed, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our ordinary shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under U.S. federal securities laws. The waiver continues to apply to claims that arise during the period when a holder holds the ADSs, whether the ADS holder purchased the ADSs in this offering or secondary transactions, even if the ADS holder subsequently withdraws the underlying ordinary shares. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law. However, you will not be deemed, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future debt securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we so indicate in a prospectus supplement, the terms of any debt securities offered under such prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below, and to the extent the terms set forth in a prospectus supplement differ from the terms described below, the terms set forth in the prospectus supplement shall control.
We may sell from time to time, in one or more offerings under this prospectus, debt securities, which may be senior, senior subordinated or subordinated. We will issue any such senior debt securities under a senior indenture that we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the senior indenture. We will issue any such subordinated debt securities under a subordinated indenture, which we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the subordinated indenture. We have filed forms of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part. We use the term “indentures” to refer to either the senior indenture or the subordinated indenture, as applicable. The indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as in effect on the date of the indenture. We use the term “debenture trustee” to refer to either the trustee under the senior indenture or the trustee under the subordinated indenture, as applicable.
The following summaries of material provisions of the senior debt securities, the subordinated debt securities and the indentures are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities.
General
Each indenture provides that debt securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series and may be denominated and payable in foreign currencies or units based on or relating to foreign currencies. Neither indenture limits the amount of debt securities that may be issued thereunder, and each indenture provides that the specific terms of any series of debt securities shall be set forth in, or determined pursuant to, an authorizing resolution and/or a supplemental indenture, if any, relating to such series.
We will describe in each prospectus supplement the following terms relating to a series of debt securities:
title or designation;
the aggregate principal amount and any limit on the amount that may be issued;
the currency or units based on or relating to currencies in which debt securities of such series are denominated and the currency or units in which principal or interest or both will or may be payable;
whether we will issue the series of debt securities in global form, the terms of any global securities and who the depositary will be;
the maturity date and the date or dates on which principal will be payable;
the interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the date or dates interest will be payable and the record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;
whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt;
the terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated debt;
the place or places where payments will be payable;
our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;
the date, if any, after which, and the price at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional redemption provisions;
the date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities;
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whether the indenture will restrict our ability to pay dividends, or will require us to maintain any asset ratios or reserves;
whether we will be restricted from incurring any additional indebtedness;
a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to a series of debt securities;
the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof; and
any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities. We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Conversion or Exchange Rights
We will set forth in the prospectus supplement the terms, if any, on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our ordinary shares or our other securities. We will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of ordinary shares or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.
Consolidation, Merger or Sale; No Protection in Event of a Change of Control or Highly Leveraged Transaction
The indentures do not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. However, any successor to or acquirer of such assets must assume all of our obligations under the indentures or the debt securities, as appropriate.
Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change of control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change of control), which could adversely affect holders of debt securities.
Events of Default Under the Indenture
The following are events of default under the indentures with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:
if we fail to pay interest when due and our failure continues for 90 days and the time for payment has not been extended or deferred;
if we fail to pay the principal, or premium, if any, when due and the time for payment has not been extended or delayed;
if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant set forth in the debt securities of such series or the applicable indentures, other than a covenant specifically relating to and for the benefit of holders of another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive written notice from the debenture trustee or holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and
if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur as to us.
No event of default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an event of default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The occurrence of an event of default may constitute an event of default under any bank credit agreements we may have in existence from time to time. In addition, the occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our other indebtedness outstanding from time to time.
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If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the debenture trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) of and premium and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all debt securities of that series. Before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained with respect to debt securities of any series, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may rescind and annul the acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the applicable indenture (including payments or deposits in respect of principal, premium or interest that had become due other than as a result of such acceleration). We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default.
Subject to the terms of the indentures, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the debenture trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the debenture trustee reasonable indemnity. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the debenture trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the debenture trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:
the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and
subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the debenture trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding.
A holder of the debt securities of any series will only have the right to institute a proceeding under the indentures or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies if:
these limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities;
the holder previously has given written notice to the debenture trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series;
the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request to institute the proceeding, and such holders have offered indemnity satisfactory to the debenture trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee; and
the debenture trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) other conflicting directions within 60 days after the notice, request and offer.
We will periodically file statements with the applicable debenture trustee regarding our compliance with specified covenants in the applicable indenture.
Modification of Indenture; Waiver
The debenture trustee and we may change the applicable indenture without the consent of any holders with respect to specific matters, including:
to fix any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture or in the debt securities; and
to change anything that does not materially adversely affect the rights of any holder of debt securities of any series issued pursuant to such indenture.
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In addition, under the indentures, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the debenture trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) that is affected. However, the debenture trustee and we may make the following changes only with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:
extending the fixed maturity of the series of debt securities;
reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or any premium payable upon the redemption of any debt securities; or
reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any amendment or waiver.
Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on any debt security of that series, which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the series affected; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration.
Discharge
Each indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for obligations to:
the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the series;
replace stolen, lost, destroyed or mutilated debt securities of the series;
payment of principal, premium and interest;
maintain an office or agency;
maintain paying agents;
hold monies for payment in trust;
compensate and indemnify the trustee; and
appoint any successor trustee.
In order to exercise our rights to be discharged with respect to a series, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, the premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments are due.
Form, Exchange, and Transfer
We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indentures provide that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company or another depositary named by us and identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to that series.
At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.
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Subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange or in the applicable indenture, we will make no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.
We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.
If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:
issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or
register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part.
Information Concerning the Debenture Trustee
The debenture trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under the applicable indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the debenture trustee under such indenture must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the debenture trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indentures at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.
Payment and Paying Agents
Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.
We will pay the principal of and any premium and interest due on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, will we make interest payments by check which we will mail to the holder. Unless we otherwise indicate in a prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the debenture trustee in the City of New York as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.
All money we pay to a paying agent or the debenture trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities which remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.
Governing Law
The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the Trust Indenture Act is applicable.
Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities
Our obligations pursuant to any subordinated debt securities will be unsecured and will be subordinate and junior in priority of payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a prospectus supplement. The subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of senior indebtedness we may incur. It also does not limit us from issuing any other secured or unsecured debt.
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
General
We may issue warrants to purchase our ordinary shares represented by ADSs and/or debt securities in one or more series together with other securities or separately, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Below is a description of certain general terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer. Particular terms of the warrants will be described in the warrant agreements and the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants.
The applicable prospectus supplement will contain, where applicable, the following terms of and other information relating to the warrants:
the specific designation and aggregate number of, and the price at which we will issue, the warrants;
the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;
the designation, amount and terms of the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants;
if applicable, the exercise price for our ADSs and the number of ADSs to be received upon exercise;
if applicable, the exercise price for our debt securities, the amount of debt securities to be received upon exercise, and a description of that series of debt securities;
the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which that right will expire or, if you may not continuously exercise the warrants throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which you may exercise the warrants;
whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms;
any applicable material U.S. federal income tax consequences and any applicable material U.K. tax consequences;
the identity of the warrant agent for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents;
the proposed listing, if any, of the warrants or any securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants on any securities exchange;
if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the ADSs and/or debt securities will be separately transferable;
if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;
information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;
the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any;
any redemption or call provisions; and
any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for any warrants will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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TAXATION
The material U.K. and U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of any of the securities offered by this prospectus will be set forth in the prospectus supplement pertaining to those securities.
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs being offered by this prospectus and certain other matters of English law will be passed upon for us by Cooley (UK) LLP. The validity of the warrants and certain other matters of U.S. federal law will be passed upon for us by Cooley LLP. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Immunocore Holdings plc and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The registered business address of KPMG LLP are located at 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GL, United Kingdom.
SERVICE OF PROCESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LIABILITIES
We are incorporated and currently existing under the laws of England and Wales. In addition, certain of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States and most of the assets of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process on us or those persons in the United States or to enforce in the United States judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or those persons based on the civil liability or other provisions of the U.S. securities laws or other laws.
In addition, uncertainty exists as to whether the courts of England and Wales would:
recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liabilities provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or
entertain original actions brought in England and Wales against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have been advised by Cooley (UK) LLP and Cooley LLP that there is currently no treaty between (i) the United States and (ii) England and Wales providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters (although the United States and the United Kingdom are both parties to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards) and that a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any general or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the United States securities laws, would not be automatically enforceable in England and Wales. We have also been advised by Cooley (UK) LLP and Cooley LLP that any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in United States courts would be treated by the courts of England and Wales as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that:
the relevant U.S. court had jurisdiction over the original proceedings according to English conflicts of laws principles at the time when proceedings were initiated;
England and Wales courts had jurisdiction over the matter on enforcement and we either submitted to such jurisdiction or were resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and were duly served with process;
the U.S. judgment was final and conclusive on the merits in the sense of being final and unalterable in the court that pronounced it and being for a definite sum of money;
the judgment given by the courts was not in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations (or otherwise based on a U.S. law that an English court considers to relate to a penal, revenue or other public law);
the judgment was not procured by fraud;
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the judgment was not obtained following a breach of a jurisdictional or arbitrational clause, unless with the agreement of the defendant as the defendant’s subsequent submission to the jurisdiction of the court;
recognition or enforcement of the judgment in England and Wales would not be contrary to public policy or the Human Rights Act 1998;
the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice;
the U.S. judgment was not arrived at by doubling, trebling or otherwise multiplying a sum assessed as compensation for the loss or damages sustained and not being otherwise in breach of Section 5 of the U.K. Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980, or is a judgment based on measures designated by the Secretary of State under Section 1 of that Act;
there is not a prior decision of an English court or the court of another jurisdiction on the issues in question between the same parties; and
the English enforcement proceedings were commenced within the limitation period.
Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the United States securities laws, including whether the award of monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision.
Subject to the foregoing, investors may be able to enforce in England and Wales judgments in civil and commercial matters that have been obtained from U.S. federal or state courts. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that those judgments will be recognized or enforceable in England and Wales.
If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement. In addition, it may not be possible to obtain an English judgment or to enforce that judgment if the judgment debtor is or becomes subject to any insolvency or similar proceedings, or if the judgment debtor has any set-off or counterclaim against the judgment creditor. Also note that, in any enforcement proceedings, the judgment debtor may raise any counterclaim that could have been brought if the action had been originally brought in England unless the subject of the counterclaim was in issue and denied in the U.S. proceedings.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. Under the Exchange Act, we file annual reports on Form 20-F and other information with the SEC. We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in the United Kingdom, filed with and made public by any stock exchange on which we are listed or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.
This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.
We also maintain a website at www.immunocore.com through which you can access our SEC filings. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and shall not be incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. Any statement contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus modifies or replaces that statement.
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:
our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2022;
our report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on January 26, 2022; and
the description of our ADSs representing our ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the SEC under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act on February 2, 2021, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description (File No. 001-39992), including Exhibit 2.4 to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021.
We are also incorporating by reference all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus) prior to the termination of the offering of securities under this Registration Statement. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:
Immunocore Holdings plc
Attention: Investor Relations
92 Park Drive
Milton Park
Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1235 438600.
In addition, copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be accessed at our website at www.immunocore.com. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on or accessible through our website, and you should not consider the contents of our website in making an investment decision with respect to our ADSs.
You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
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EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH REGISTRATION
The following table sets forth fees and expenses payable by the registrant, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered hereby. All amounts set forth below are estimates. All of such expenses are being borne by the registrant.
SEC registration fee
$  (1)
FINRA filing fee
(1)
Legal fees and expenses
(2)
Accounting fees and expenses
(2)
Printing expenses
(2)
Miscellaneous expenses
  (2)
Total
$  (2)
(1)
This registration statement relates to the registration of securities having an indeterminate maximum aggregate amount. Payment of the registration fee has been deferred and will be calculated and paid in accordance with Rule 456(b) and Rule 457(r) under the Securities Act.
(2)
These fees are calculated based on the securities offered and the number of issuances and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.
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Ordinary Shares
American Depositary Shares representing Ordinary Shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
April 4, 2022