Investors turn on Unilever’s move out of City

UNILEVER is facing a shareholder revolt over plans to move its HQ to the Netherlands that could see it delisted from the FTSE 100.

A growing number of investors in the dual listed Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, whose products include Marmite and Dove soap, are understood to have voiced their opposition to the board. It raises questions as to whether the firm will be able to secure the 75pc of votes needed to pass the proposal.

Unilever’s decision last month to choose Rotterdam over London for its headquarters came as a blow to the UK Government as it tries to uphold Britain’s status as a post-Brexit centre for business.

However, Unilever’s chief executive Paul Polman ( pictured) has insisted the move has ‘nothing to do with Brexit’ but is because 55pc of its shareholders are based in the Netherlands and more of its shares are traded there. Although Unilever, which also owns Colman’s mustard and PG Tips, plans to keep its offices and main listing in London, it could lose its place in the blue chip FTSE 100 index. Iain Richards from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, a top-ten shareholder in Unilever, said recently: ‘They need to do more to convince UK shareholders of the merits of the move.’ The firm has been jointly based in Rotterdam and London since its creation in 1929 following the merger of Britain’s Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie of the Netherlands. But a £115bn hostile takeover approach from US rival Kraft Heinz last year – which the board rejected – raised concerns that its London base left it open to predators. Dutch laws offer more protection against hostile takeovers than the UK’s.

A spokesman for Unilever said: ‘There is a small group of shareholders whose holding may be directly affected by our proposal, and we will continue to engage with them.’

Unilever employs around 7,300 people in the UK at factories and research and development centres. The company has maintained that its operations in this country will not be affected by any HQ move. The restructure would see Unilever’s beauty and personal care and its home divisions, which make up around 60pc of its revenues, managed in the UK.