It is dismay in the Netherlands, where two iconic multinationals plan to move their headquarters to London. If Liberal Mark Rutte’s government relied on Brexit to entice companies keen to keep a foothold on European Union (EU) soil, he did not imagine that Unilever first, Shell second, could do the job. path in reverse.
Unilever, the Dutch-British giant of consumer goods (Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s ice creams, Maille mustard, Lipton teas, Cif cleansers, Timotei shampoos, etc.), announced on June 11 that it will “Simplify its structure” by choosing to register its parent company only in the United Kingdom. While maintaining, he promises, its headquarters in Rotterdam, as well as the employment of its 2,500 Dutch collaborators and its brand-new research center in Wageningue (central Netherlands), in the European Silicon Valley of food . The company led by the Scottish Alan Jope also promises to study the transformation of its branch “food and refreshments”, which could become a Dutch subsidiary listed on the Stock Exchange.
When Unilever announced his decision, UK Business Minister Alok Sharma celebrated “This clear vote of confidence in the UK”. The company’s decision is obviously considered a symbol, while Brexit took place on 1er February and that future relations between the EU and the United Kingdom remain under negotiation.
Brexit, an accelerator
Michael Manufacturer, a pro-Brexit Conservative MP, questioned: ” Is not the lack of agility of the European Union (…) who is making companies like Unilever ask to centralize their operations in the UK? “ “We couldn’t say better”replied Minister of State Michael Gove.
In truth, Unilever’s decision has little to do with Brexit and does not change anything, for the time being, from an operational point of view. Its structure is an old problem that dates back to 1929, when the Dutch Margarine Unie and the British company of the Lever brothers merged. The group was made up of two companies, united by a series of complicated legal agreements. For years, Unilever executives have been pushing for simplification, even deciding in 2018 to register their headquarters in Rotterdam.
Shareholders located in the United Kingdom however strongly protested, fearing that the group would leave FTSE 100, the main British stock market index. For many investment funds, which track companies in this index exclusively, this would have meant the loss of a company that pays good dividends and brings in regular profits. The move was eventually abandoned. This time, it was the importance of the City and its capital market, more liquid and more important than in Amsterdam, that prevailed, Brexit having perhaps played a role of accelerator, according to UBS analysts.
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