Limitations on share ownership by non-EU nationals

The Board of Directors of Ryanair Holdings plc (“Ryanair Holdings” or the “Company”) is given certain powers under its Articles of Association (the “Articles”) to take action to ensure that the number of Ordinary Shares held in Ryanair Holdings by non-EU nationals does not reach a level which could jeopardize the Company’s entitlement to continue to hold or enjoy the benefit of any license, permit, consent or privilege which it holds or enjoys and which enables it to carry on business as an air carrier (a “License”). In particular, EU Regulation 1008/2008 requires that, in order to obtain and retain an operating license, an EU air carrier must be majority-owned and effectively controlled by EU nationals. As described below, the Directors from time to time set a “Permitted Maximum” on the number of Ordinary Shares that may be owned by non-EU nationals at such level as they believe will comply with EU law. The Permitted Maximum is currently set at 49.9%.

In accordance with its Articles, Ryanair Holdings maintains a separate register (the “Separate Register”) of Ordinary Shares in which non-EU nationals, whether individuals, bodies corporate or other entities, have an interest (such shares are referred to as “Affected Shares” in the Articles). Interest in this context is widely defined and includes any interest held through ADRs, through Belgian law rights in the Euroclear Bank settlement system, or through CREST Depositary Interests, in each case in the Ordinary Shares of Ryanair Holdings underlying the relevant ADRs, Belgian law rights or CREST Depositary Interests. The Directors can require relevant parties to provide them with information to enable a determination to be made by the Directors as to whether Ordinary Shares are, or are to be treated as, Affected Shares. If such information is not available or forthcoming or is unsatisfactory then the Directors can, at their discretion, determine that Ordinary Shares are to be treated as Affected Shares. Registered holders of Ordinary Shares are also obliged to notify the Company if they are aware that any Ordinary Share which they hold ought to be treated as an Affected Share for this purpose. With regard to ADRs, the Directors can treat all of the relevant underlying shares as Affected Shares unless satisfactory evidence as to why they should not be so treated is forthcoming.

In the event that, inter alia, (i) the refusal, withholding, suspension or revocation of any License or the imposition of any condition which materially inhibits the exercise of any License (an “Intervening Act”) has taken place, (ii) the Company (or any subsidiary) receives a notice or direction from any governmental body or any other body which regulates the provision of air transport services to the effect that an Intervening Act is imminent, threatened or intended, (iii) an Intervening Act may occur as a consequence of the level of non-EU ownership of Ordinary Shares or (iv) an Intervening Act is imminent, threatened or intended because of the manner of share ownership or control of Ryanair Holdings generally, the Directors can take action pursuant to the Articles to deal with the situation. They can, inter alia, (i) remove any Directors or change the chairman of the Board of Directors, (ii) identify those Ordinary Shares, ADRs or Affected Shares which give rise to the need to take action and treat such Ordinary Shares, ADRs, or Affected Shares as Restricted Shares (see below) or (iii) set a “Permitted Maximum” on the number of Affected Shares which may subsist at any time (which may not, save in the circumstances referred to below, be lower than 40% of the total number of issued shares) and treat any Affected Shares (or ADRs representing such Affected Shares) in excess of this Permitted Maximum as Restricted Shares (see below).

In addition to the above, if as a consequence of a change of law or a direction, notice or requirement of any state, authority or person it is necessary to reduce the total number of Affected Shares below 40% or reduce the number of Affected Shares held by any particular shareholder or shareholders in order to overcome, prevent or avoid an Intervening Act, the Directors may resolve to (i) set the Permitted Maximum at such level below 40% as they consider necessary in order to overcome, prevent or avoid such Intervening Act, and/or (ii) treat such number of Affected Shares (or ADRs representing Affected Shares) held by any particular shareholder or shareholders as they consider necessary (which could include all of such Affected Shares or ADRs) as Restricted Shares (see below). The Directors may serve a Restricted Share Notice in respect of any Affected Share, or any ADR representing any ADS, which is to be treated as a Restricted Share. Holders of Restricted Shares may be deprived of the rights to attend, vote and speak at general meetings, which they would otherwise have as a consequence of holding such Ordinary Shares or ADRs. Holders of Restricted Shares may also be required to dispose of the Ordinary Shares or ADRs concerned to an EU national (so that the relevant shares (or shares underlying the relevant ADRs) will then cease to be Affected Shares) within 21 days or such longer period as the Directors may determine. The Directors are also given the power to transfer such Restricted Shares, themselves, in cases of non-compliance with the Restricted Share Notice.

To enable the Directors to identify Affected Shares, transferees of Ordinary Shares are generally required to provide a declaration as to the nationality of persons having interests in those shares. Shareholders are also obliged to notify Ryanair Holdings if they are aware that any shares, which they hold, ought to be treated as Affected Shares for this purpose. Purchasers or transferees of ADRs need not complete a nationality declaration because the Directors automatically treat all of the Ordinary Shares held by the Depositary as Affected Shares. ADS holders must open ADR accounts directly with the Depositary if they wish to provide to Ryanair Holdings nationality declarations (or such other evidence as the Directors may require) in order to establish to the Directors’ satisfaction that the Ordinary Shares underlying such holder’s ADRs are not Affected Shares. Holders of interests in Ordinary Shares through Belgian law rights in the Euroclear system or CREST Depositary Interests in the CREST system must complete a nationality declaration in accordance with the processes and procedures of Euroclear Bank and Euroclear U.K. & Ireland respectively.

In deciding which Affected Shares are to be selected as Restricted Shares, the Directors may take into account which Affected Shares have given rise to the necessity to take action. Subject to that they will, insofar as practicable, firstly view as Restricted Shares those Affected Shares in respect of which no declaration as to whether or not such shares are Affected Shares has been made by the holder thereof and where information which has been requested by the Directors in accordance with the Articles has not been provided within specified time periods and, secondly, have regard to the chronological order in which details of Affected Shares have been entered in the Separate Register and, accordingly, treat the most recently registered Affected Shares as Restricted Shares to the extent necessary. Transfers of Affected Shares to Affiliates (as that expression is defined in the Articles) will not affect the chronological order of entry in the Separate Register for this purpose. The Directors do however have the discretion to apply another basis of selection if, in their sole opinion, that would be more equitable. Where the Directors have resolved to treat Affected Shares held by any particular shareholder or shareholders as Restricted Shares (i) because such Affected Shares have given rise to the need to take such action or (ii) because of a change of law or a requirement or direction of a regulatory authority necessitating such action (see above), such powers may be exercised irrespective of the date upon which such Affected Shares were entered in the Separate Register.

The Permitted Maximum is currently set at 49.9%. This maximum level can be reduced at any time if it becomes necessary for the Directors to exercise their powers in the circumstances described above. The decision to make any such reduction or to change the Permitted Maximum from time to time will be published in at least one national newspaper in Ireland and in any country in which the Ordinary Shares or ADRs are listed. The relevant notice will specify the provisions of the Articles that apply to Restricted Shares and the name of the person or persons who will answer queries relating to Restricted Shares on behalf of Ryanair Holdings. The Directors shall publish information as to the number of shares held by EU nationals annually.

In an effort to increase the percentage of its share capital held by EU nationals, on June 26, 2001, Ryanair Holdings instructed the Depositary to suspend the issuance of new ADSs in exchange for the deposit of Ordinary Shares until further notice to its shareholders. Holders of Ordinary Shares cannot convert their Ordinary Shares into ADRs during such suspension, and there can be no assurance that the suspension will ever be lifted.

As a further measure to increase the percentage of Ordinary Shares held by EU nationals, on February 7, 2002, the Company issued a notice to shareholders to the effect that any purchase of interests in Ordinary Shares by a non-EU national after such date will immediately result in the issue of a Restricted Share Notice to such non-EU national purchaser. The Restricted Share Notice compels the non-EU national purchaser to sell the interests in Affected Shares to an EU national within 21 days of the date of issuance. In the event that any such non-EU national shareholder does not sell its interests in Ordinary Shares to an EU national within the specified time period, the Company can then compel such a sale. As a result, non-EU nationals are effectively barred from purchasing Ordinary Shares for as long as these restrictions remain in place. There can be no assurance that these restrictions will ever be lifted.
As an additional measure to manage the Company’s EU nationality requirements, at the EGM held on April 19, 2012 the Company obtained a repurchase authority to enable the repurchase of ADRs for up to 5% of the issued share capital of the Company traded on the NASDAQ. This authority (which in 2017 was increased to 10% of the issued share capital of the Company traded on the NASDAQ) was renewed at each subsequent Annual General Meeting up to and including the September 2020 meeting.

In order to protect the Company’s operating license and ensure that the Company (and its subsidiary EU airlines) remain majority EU owned and controlled in the event of a no-deal or “hard” Brexit, on March 8, 2019 the Board resolved that with effect from the date on which U.K. nationals cease to qualify as nationals of Member States for the purposes of Article 4 of EU Regulation 1008/2008 all Ordinary Shares and Depositary Shares held by or on behalf of non-EU (including U.K.) shareholders would be treated as Restricted Shares.

In anticipation of the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, 2020, on December 29, 2020 the Company announced that, with effect from January 1, 2021 U.K. nationals would cease to qualify as EU nationals and in accordance with the resolutions passed by the Board of the Company on March 8, 2019 all Ordinary Shares and Depositary Shares held by or on behalf of non-EU nationals (including U.K. nationals) would be treated as “Restricted Shares” (within the meaning of the Articles of Association). Restricted Share Notices were issued to the registered holder(s) of each Restricted Share specifying that the holder(s) of such shares are not entitled to attend, speak or vote at any general meeting of the Company for so long as those shares are treated as Restricted Shares pursuant to Article 41(J)(i) of the Articles of Association. U.K. nationals are not required to dispose of Ordinary Shares which they purchased prior to January 1, 2021.

In January 2021, the Company published a notice in the Financial Times, the Irish Times and the Wall Street Journal to again notify and confirm to shareholders that with effect from January 1, 2021 U.K. nationals ceased to qualify as EU nationals and in accordance with the resolutions passed by the Board of the Company on March 8, 2019, all Ordinary Shares and Depositary Shares held by or on behalf of non-EU nationals (including U.K. nationals) are treated as “Restricted Shares” (within the meaning of the Articles).
Notwithstanding the powers vested in the chairman of general meetings of the Company pursuant to Article 41(J)(i) of the Articles, the chairman will not vote any Restricted Shares at any meeting of the Company.

Concerns about the foreign ownership restrictions described above could result in the exclusion of Ryanair from certain stock tracking indices. Any such exclusion may adversely affect the market price of the Ordinary Shares and ADRs. See also “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors–Risks Related to Ownership of the Company’s Ordinary Shares or ADRs—EU Rules Impose Restrictions on the Ownership of Ryanair Holdings’ Ordinary Shares by Non-EU Nationals and the Company has Applied a Ban on the Purchase of Ordinary Shares by Non-EU Nationals since 2002” above.

As a result of the measures introduced by the Company at the beginning of 2021 to protect the Group’s operating licenses under EU Regulation 1008/2008 following Brexit, as at March 31, 2023, EU nationals owned 100% of the Ryanair Holdings’ Ordinary Shares with voting rights and approximately 46% of the Ryanair Holdings’ Ordinary Shares with economic rights (in each case assuming conversion of all outstanding ADRs into Ordinary Shares).