Unilever may lose one headquarters and be British not Dutch

Anglo-Dutch food and personal care products group Unilever could become a purely British company under a new strategy plan, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday.

Unilever currently has headquarters in Rotterdam and London, but on Thursday chief executive Paul Polman and chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly proposed closing the Dutch base.

The Dutch government reacted instantly, with economic affairs minister Henk Kamp scheduling a meeting with management to try to persuade the manufacturing giant to ditch London instead, reports NOS broadcaster.

Polman and Pitkethly had argued a dual nationality is a hindrance, particularly when takeovers and other large transactions are involved. ‘If we had a single type of share structure we would have more clarity,’ Polman said. At present major decisions have to be presented to two separate shareholders’meetings.

Unilever was formed in 1930 through the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Nederlandse Margarine Unie. The group has a single management and supervisory board but separate Dutch and British bases.

Unilever now concentrates on personal care products, an activity tied to Britain. The food operations, which are slowly being hived off, are centred in the Netherlands. The group earns more from shampoos and deodorants like Andrélon and Axe than it does from traditional food brands which include Knorr and Ola.

Unilever is under increasing pressure from its shareholders after an abortive takeover attempt by Kraft Heinz of the US in February. They are demanding more shareholder value.

But the Dutch minister Kamp pointed out that a move to London would entail an uncertain future under Brexit and that staying in the Netherlands would have advantages.

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