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Claire Keast-Butler
+44 (0) 20 7556 4211
ckeastbutler@cooley.com
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Re: |
Immunocore Holdings plc —Prospectus Supplement — Exhibit 5.1
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1. |
INTRODUCTION
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1.1 |
We have acted as English legal advisers to Immunocore Holdings plc, a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales (the “Company”), in connection with the
preparation and filing on the date hereof with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”)
pursuant to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Prospectus Supplement supplements a registration statement on Form S-3ASR that the Company filed with the SEC on 21
March 2024 (the “Registration Statement”).
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1.3 |
The Notes are convertible into American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), each representing one ordinary share of nominal value £0.002 in the capital of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”). ADSs which may be issued to the holders of the Notes in respect of any conversion of the Notes are referred to in this letter as the “Notes ADSs”
and the Ordinary Shares represented by the Notes ADSs are referred to in this letter as the “Notes Ordinary Shares”.
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1.4 |
Except as otherwise defined in this letter, capitalised terms used have the respective meanings given to them in the Prospectus Supplement and headings are for ease of reference only and shall not affect
interpretation.
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1.5 |
All references to legislation in this letter are to the legislation of England unless the contrary is indicated, and any reference to any provision of any legislation shall include any amendment, modification,
re-enactment or extension thereof, as in force on the date of this letter.
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2. |
DOCUMENTS
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2.1 |
a PDF copy of the Registration Statement filed by the Company with the SEC on 21 March 2024;
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2.2 |
a PDF copy of the Prospectus Supplement to be filed by the Company with the SEC on 17 March 2025;
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2.4 |
a PDF copy of the executed global note evidencing the Notes dated 2 February 2024 (the “Global Note” and, together with the Indenture, the “Agreements”);
and
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(a) |
a PDF copy of the articles of association of the Company adopted on 23 May 2024 (the “Current Articles”);
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(b) |
a PDF copy of the articles of association of the Company adopted on 9 February 2021 (the “Prior Articles”);
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(c) |
a PDF copy of the certificate of incorporation of the Company dated 7 January 2021 and a PDF copy of the certificate of incorporation on re-registration of the Company as a public company dated 1 February 2021;
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(d) |
a PDF copy of the executed written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board” or the “Directors”) passed in November 2021 constituting
a financing and pricing committee of the Board (the “Committee”) with effect from 8 November 2021 (the “Board Written Resolutions”);
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(e) |
a PDF copy of the executed minutes of a meeting of the Board held on 29 April 2022 at which it was resolved, inter alia, to appoint Siddharth Kaul to the Committee (the “Board Minutes”);
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(f) |
a PDF copy of the executed minutes of a meeting of the Committee held on 26 January 2024 at which it was resolved, inter alia, to (i) subject to the final approval of the Committee, on terms as
may be negotiated by Dr. Bahija Jallal, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Brian Di Donato, as Chief Financial Officer of the Company and Lily Hepworth, as General Counsel of the Company (each individually, an “Authorised Officer” and collectively, the “Authorised Officers”) proceed with the offering of the Notes (the “Offering”) and
(ii) sub-delegate to the Authorised Officers the full power, authority and discretion of the Committee to determine all matters in connection with the Offering, including, inter alia, (A) the
manner, terms and conditions of the Offering and (B) the negotiation, execution and delivery of the Indenture and all such other documents as may be necessary, appropriate or advisable in connection with the Offering, in each case, subject
to the final approval of the Committee (the “First Committee Minutes”);
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(g) |
a PDF copy of the executed minutes of a meeting of the Committee held on 30 January 2024 at which it was resolved, inter alia, to approve (i) the execution of the Agreements, (ii) the issue of
the Notes and thereby the grant of rights to convert securities into, or to subscribe for, Notes Ordinary Shares (to be represented by Notes ADSs) subject to any such right of conversion being exercised in accordance with the Indenture and
(iii) the allotment and issue of the Notes Ordinary Shares in accordance with the Indenture (the “Second Committee Minutes” and, together with the First Committee Minutes, the “Committee Minutes”);
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(i) |
a PDF copy of the executed resolutions passed by the shareholders of the Company at the general meeting of the Company held on 3 February 2021 (the “General Meeting”) at which it was resolved, inter alia, to (i) authorise the Directors for the purposes of section 551 of the Companies Act 2006, as amended (the “Companies Act”) to allot shares in the
Company or grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company up to an aggregate nominal amount of £150,000 for a period ending on 3 February 2026 and (ii) empower the Directors pursuant to section 570 of
the Companies Act to allot equity securities for cash pursuant to the authority referred to in (i) as if section 561 of the Companies Act did not apply to the allotment (the “Shareholder Resolutions”
and, together with the Board Written Resolutions, the Board Minutes, the Committee Minutes and the Committee Written Resolutions, the “Corporate Approvals”).
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3. |
SEARCHES
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3.1 |
4. |
OPINIONS
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4.1 |
Corporate existence
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(a) |
The Company has been duly incorporated and is existing as a public company with limited liability under English law.
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(b) |
The Searches gave no indication that any winding-up, dissolution or administration order or appointment of a receiver, administrator, administrative receiver or similar officer has been made with respect to the Company, or that any
petition for the winding-up of the Company has been presented.
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4.2 |
Corporate action
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4.3 |
Corporate power and capacity
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4.4 |
The Notes Ordinary Shares
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5. |
ASSUMPTIONS
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5.1 |
all signatures, stamps and seals on all documents are genuine. All original documents are complete, authentic and up-to-date, and all documents submitted to us as a copy (whether by email or otherwise) are
complete and accurate and conform to the original documents of which they are copies and that no amendments (whether oral, in writing or by conduct of the parties) have been made to any of the documents since they were examined by us;
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5.2 |
the persons who executed each of the Agreements on behalf of the Company were those persons authorised to do so pursuant to the Corporate Approvals and their authority had not been revoked;
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5.3 |
each of the individuals who signs as, or otherwise claims to be, an officer of the Company is the individual whom they claim to be and holds the office that they claim to hold;
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5.4 |
where a document is required to be delivered, each party to it has delivered the same without it being subject to any escrow or similar arrangement;
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5.5 |
all signatures which purport to have been attested were made in the physical presence of the purported witness;
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5.6 |
all documents, forms and notices which should have been delivered to Companies House in respect of the Company have been and will be so delivered;
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5.8 |
no notice has been received by the Company which could lead to the Company being struck off the register of companies under section 1000 of the Companies Act and no such notice shall have been received as at the
date of this letter and as at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.9 |
the Current Articles remain in full force and effect and no alteration has been made or will be made to the Current Articles as at the date of this letter and as at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.10 |
to the extent that the obligations of the Company under each of the Agreements may be dependent upon such matters, each of the parties to the Agreements:
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(a) |
is duly organised, validly existing and in good standing (where such concept is legally relevant) under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation;
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(b) |
is in compliance, generally, with all applicable laws, rules and regulations to which it is subject, its constitutional documents and any judicial or administrative judgments, awards, injunctions or orders binding upon it or its
property;
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(c) |
has the capacity, power and authority to execute, deliver and perform the Agreements;
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(d) |
is duly qualified to engage in the activities contemplated by the Agreements and will not be in breach of any of its respective obligations under any document, contract, instrument or agreement as a result of its entry into and
performance of its obligations under the Agreements;
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(e) |
is authorised under all applicable laws of its jurisdiction and domicile to submit to the jurisdiction of the relevant courts or arbitral tribunal specified in such Agreement and has validly submitted to such jurisdiction; and
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(f) |
has validly authorised, executed and delivered all relevant documents,
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5.11 |
each Agreement (and any other documents referred to therein) constitutes legal, valid and binding obligations of each of the parties thereto enforceable under all applicable laws and that each of the Agreement
will remain in full force and effect at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.12 |
each of the Agreements remains accurate and complete and has not been amended, modified, terminated or otherwise discharged as at the date of this letter and as at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.13 |
there is an absence of fraud or mutual mistake of fact or law or any other arrangements, agreements, understandings or course of conduct or prior or subsequent dealings amending, rescinding or modifying or
suspending any of the terms of any of the Agreements or which would result in the inclusion of additional terms therein, and that the parties have acted in accordance with the terms of each of the Agreements and this will remain the case as
at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.14 |
in relation to each of the Agreements and the transactions contemplated thereby, the Directors have acted and will act in the manner required by section 172 of the Companies Act and that each of the Agreements and
all obligations thereunder have been entered into and the Notes were issued and any Notes Ordinary Shares will be allotted and issued in good faith and on bona fide commercial terms and on arms’ length terms and for the purposes of carrying
on the business of the Company and this will remain the case as at each Bring-Down Date;
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5.15 |
the Company and each party to the Agreements is and will at all relevant times remain, in compliance with all applicable anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, sanctions and human rights laws and
regulations;
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5.16 |
the Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act and such effectiveness shall not have been terminated or rescinded as at the date of this letter, and the Prospectus Supplement has been
filed with the SEC;
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5.17 |
the Board Minutes and the Committee Minutes referred to in paragraph 2.5 (Documents) are a true record of the proceedings described therein, and that each meeting recorded
in such minutes was duly conducted as described therein, duly constituted and convened and all constitutional, statutory and other formalities were duly observed (including, if applicable, those relating to the declaration of Directors’
interests or the power of interested Directors to vote), a quorum was present throughout, the requisite majority of Directors voted in favour of approving the resolutions and the resolutions passed at that meeting of the Board or the
Committee, as applicable, were duly adopted, have not been revoked or varied and remain in full force and effect as at the date of this letter and each Bring-Down Date;
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5.18 |
the resolutions set out in the Board Written Resolutions and Committee Written Resolutions referred to in paragraph 2.5 (Documents) were validly passed as written
resolutions in accordance with the Prior Articles in the case of the Board Written Resolutions and the Current Articles in the case of the Committee Written Resolutions, that all eligible Directors (being all the Directors who would have
been entitled to vote on the matter had it been proposed as a resolution at a meeting of the Directors or the Committee, as applicable, but excluding any Director whose vote is not to be counted in respect of a particular matter) have
signed one or more copies of the Board Written Resolutions or the Committee Written Resolutions, as applicable, that all relevant provisions of the Companies Act and the Prior Articles or the Current Articles, as applicable, were complied
with and the Prior Articles or the Current Articles, as applicable, were duly observed (including, if applicable, those relating to the declaration of Directors’ interests or the power of interested Directors to vote) and such resolutions
were duly adopted, and have not been revoked or varied and remain in full force and effect as at the date of this letter and each Bring-Down Date;
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5.19 |
the General Meeting was duly convened and held on 3 February 2021 at which all constitutional, statutory and other formalities were duly observed, a quorum of shareholders was present throughout and the
Shareholder Resolutions referred to in paragraph 2.5 (Documents) were duly passed and have not been revoked or varied and remain in full force and effect as at the date of this letter and each
Bring-Down Date, and that all filings required to be made with Companies House in connection therewith have been made within the relevant time limits as at the date of this letter and each Bring-Down Date;
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5.22 |
the contents of the Secretary’s Certificate were true and not misleading when given and remain true and not misleading as at the date of this letter and will remain so as at each Bring-Down Date, and there is no
fact or matter not referred to in the Secretary’s Certificate which would make any of the information in the Secretary’s Certificate inaccurate or misleading;
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5.24 |
as at the date of this letter and each Bring-Down Date, the Company has not taken any corporate or other action and no steps have been taken or legal proceedings have been started against the Company for the
liquidation, winding-up, dissolution, reorganisation or bankruptcy of, or for the appointment of a liquidator, receiver, trustee, administrator, administrative receiver or similar officer of, the Company or all or any of its assets (or any
analogous proceedings in any jurisdiction) and the Company is not unable to pay its debts as they fall due within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986, as amended (the “Insolvency Act”)
or becomes unable to pay its debts within the meaning of that section as a result of any of the transactions contemplated in this letter, is insolvent or has been dissolved or declared bankrupt;
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5.25 |
all agreements and documents examined by us that are governed by the laws of any jurisdiction other than England are on the date of this letter legal, valid and binding under the laws by which they are (or are
expected to be) governed, and will remain so on each Bring-Down Date;
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5.28 |
all statements of fact and representations and warranties as to matters of fact (except as to matters expressly set out in the opinions given in this letter) contained in or made in connection with any of the
documents examined by us were true and correct as at the date given and are true and correct at today’s date and as at each Bring-Down Date and no fact was omitted therefrom which would have made any of such facts, representations or
warranties incorrect or misleading;
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5.29 |
all consents, licences, approvals, authorisations, notices, filings and registrations that are necessary under any applicable laws or regulations in connection with the transactions contemplated by the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement have been or will be duly made or obtained and are, or will be, in full force and effect, or if such consents, licences, approvals, authorisations, notices, filings and registrations are
required, these have been made or will be made within the prescribed time limits;
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5.31 |
no communication has been or shall be made in relation to the Notes, the Notes ADSs or the Notes Ordinary Shares in breach of section 21 (Restrictions on financial promotion)
of the FSMA or any other English laws or regulations relating to offers or invitations to subscribe for, or to acquire rights to subscribe for or otherwise acquire, shares or other securities; in particular, any invitation or inducement to
engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the FSMA) in connection with the offer and issue of the Notes has only been communicated or caused to be communicated in circumstances in which these has been no breach of
section 21(1) of the FSMA;
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5.32 |
no Notes, Notes ADSs or Notes Ordinary Shares have been or shall be offered to the public except in circumstances which do not require the publication of a prospectus pursuant to the EU Prospectus Regulation
(Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) as it forms part of domestic law in the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the “Withdrawal Act”) (the “UK
Prospectus Regulation”) or Part VI of the FSMA;
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5.34 |
the Company’s place of central management and control is not the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the purpose of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers; and
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5.35 |
no application has been or will be made for any Notes, Notes ADSs or Notes Ordinary Shares to be listed or admitted to trading on a regulated market, multilateral trading facility or organised trading facility
situated or operating in the United Kingdom.
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6. |
SCOPE OF OPINIONS
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6.1 |
The opinions given in this letter are limited to English law as it would be applied by English courts on the date of this letter
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6.2 |
We express no opinion in this letter on the laws of any other jurisdiction. We have not investigated the laws of any country other than England and we assume that no foreign law affects any of the opinions stated
in paragraph 4 (Opinions).
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6.3 |
We express no opinion as to any agreement, instrument or other document other than as specified in this letter. For the purposes of giving the opinions in paragraph 4 (Opinions),
we have only examined and relied on those documents set out in paragraph 2 (Documents) and made those searches and enquiries set out in paragraph 3 (Searches), respectively. We have made no further enquiries concerning the Company or any other matter in connection with the giving of the opinions in paragraph 4 (Opinions).
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6.4 |
No opinion is expressed with respect to taxation in the United Kingdom or otherwise in this letter.
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6.5 |
We have not been responsible for investigating or verifying the accuracy of the facts or the reasonableness of any statement of opinion or intention, contained in or relevant to any document referred to in this
letter, or that no material facts have been omitted therefrom.
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6.6 |
The opinions given in this letter are given on the basis of each of the assumptions set out in paragraph 5 (Assumptions) and are subject to each of the reservations set out
in paragraph 7 (Reservations) to this letter. The opinions given in this letter are strictly limited to the matters stated in paragraph 4 (Opinions) and do
not extend, and should not be read as extending, by implication or otherwise, to any other matters.
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6.7 |
This letter only applies to those facts and circumstances which exist as at today’s date and we assume no obligation or responsibility to update or supplement this letter to reflect any facts or circumstances
which may subsequently come to our attention, any changes in laws which may occur after today, or to inform the addressee of any change in circumstances happening after the date of this letter which would alter the opinion given in this
letter.
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6.8 |
We have not been responsible for investigation or verification of statements of fact (including statements as to foreign law) or the reasonableness of any statements of opinion in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus Supplement, or that no material facts have been omitted therefrom.
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6.9 |
This letter is given by Cooley (UK) LLP and no partner or employee assumes any personal responsibility for it nor shall owe any duty of care in respect of it.
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6.10 |
This letter, the opinions given in it, and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with this letter and/or the opinions given in it, are governed by and shall be construed in accordance
with English law as at the date of this letter.
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7. |
RESERVATIONS
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7.1 |
The Companies House Search described at paragraph 3.1 (Searches) is not capable of revealing conclusively whether or not:
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(a) |
a winding-up order has been made or a resolution passed for the winding-up of a company;
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(b) |
an administration order has been made; or
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(c) |
a receiver, administrative receiver, administrator or liquidator has been appointed,
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7.2 |
The Central Registry Enquiry described at paragraph 3.2 (Searches) relates only to a compulsory winding-up and is not capable of revealing conclusively whether or not a
winding-up petition in respect of a compulsory winding-up has been presented, since details of the petition may not have been entered on the records of the Central Registry immediately or, in the case of a petition presented to a District
Registry and/or County Court in England and Wales, may not have been notified to the Central Registry and entered on such records at all, and the response to an enquiry only relates to the period since approximately 2016 for petitions
presented in London and since approximately 2019 for petitions presented to a District Registry and/or County Court in England and Wales. We have not made enquiries of any District Registry or County Court in England and Wales.
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7.3 |
The opinions set out in this letter are subject to: (i) any limitations arising from applicable laws relating to insolvency, bankruptcy, administration, reorganisation, liquidation, moratoria, schemes or analogous
circumstances; and (ii) an English court exercising its discretion under section 426 of the Insolvency Act (co-operation between courts exercising jurisdiction in relation to insolvency) to assist
the courts having the corresponding jurisdiction in any part of the United Kingdom or any relevant country or territory.
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7.4 |
We express no opinion as to matters of fact.
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7.5 |
Save for the matters set out in the Secretary’s Certificate, we have made no enquiries of any individual connected with the Company. We have relied entirely on the facts, statements and confirmations contained in
the Secretary’s Certificate and we have not undertaken any independent investigation or verification of the matters referred to in the Secretary’s Certificate.
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7.6 |
If (a) a party to any Agreement is the target of economic or financial sanctions or other restrictive measures imposed in any jurisdiction (“Sanctions”) or is owned or
controlled (directly or indirectly) by or is acting on behalf of or at the direction of or is otherwise connected with a person who is a target of Sanctions or (b) a party to any Agreement is incorporated or resident in or operating from a
country or territory that is a target of Sanctions or (c) the rights or obligations of a party to any Agreement is otherwise affected by Sanctions, then the rights and obligations of such person under such Agreement may be void and/or
unenforceable.
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7.7 |
We express no opinion in this letter on the application or potential application of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in relation to any Agreement or any transaction contemplated thereby.
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8. |
DISCLOSURE AND RELIANCE
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8.1 |
This letter is addressed to you solely for your benefit in connection with the Prospectus Supplement and the transactions contemplated thereunder. We consent to the filing of this letter as an exhibit to the
Prospectus Supplement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
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8.2 |
This letter may not be relied upon by you for any other purpose, or furnished to, assigned to, quoted to, or relied upon by any other person, firm or other entity for any purpose, without our prior written
consent, which may be granted or withheld at our sole discretion.
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