Ryanair's UK shareholders could lose rights in no-deal Brexit

Ryanair's UK investors could lose their rights in the company in a no-deal Brexit scenario because of the bloc’s regulations requiring airlines with EU licences to be majority-owned by shareholders from the club.

The company said on Monday that to comply with these regulations it would have to reduce the rights of British shareholders, who currently control about 20% of the carrier’s stock.

British citizens who own shares in Ryanair will hold restricted shares, in effect barring them from buying more stock in the carrier, voting on company resolutions or attending the annual shareholder meetings of the company.

The decision, which was approved on Friday by Ryanair's board, was to come into effect on the day that UK nationals no longer qualified as EU citizens.

“These resolutions will remain in place until the board determines that the ownership and control of the company is no longer such that there is any risk to the airline licenses held by the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to EU Regulation 1008/2008,” Ryanair said.

CEO Michael O’Leary also said last month that the company was considering buying back shares from UK investors in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Ryanair’s London-listed shares were falling by over 2% on Monday.