Unilever: seeking sanctuary in Holland?

With all the talk of Frankfurt and Paris snaring business from the City, who would guess that Rotterdam would “strike the first blow to Brexit Britain”, asked Deirdre Hipwell in The Times. Unilever, the Anglo-dutch consumer group behind such staples as Marmite, Dove, Persil and Magnum, is abandoning “a dual structure” that has served it for nearly nine decades to move its legal domicile to the Dutch port. CEO Paul Polman insisted the decision had nothing to do with Brexit and made soothing noises about UK jobs and investment. But however it’s dressed up, the defection of the FTSE’S third biggest company is an embarrassment for the Government and the City.

“Leaving the EU plainly didn’t help the UK’S pitch,” said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. But the Netherlands has a technical advantage in any unpicking of Unilever’s messy dual structure: some 55% of shares are currently held via the Dutch NV company and the group reports in euros. Equally significant, despite formal denials from Unilever, are different attitudes to takeovers in the stakeholder-friendly Netherlands. This review was prompted by last year’s £115bn bid from Kraft Heinz, which delivered an “almighty shock” – even though Polman saw it off. “Dutch scepticism about hostile bids may not have been the clincher, but it must have entered Unilever’s thinking.”

“Bad call,” said Jim Armitage in the London Evening Standard. Although Unilever retains a London listing, it will probably now drop out of the FTSE 100, meaning Footsie tracker funds can no longer invest. Shorn of its status as “a prestigious UK company”, it will be treated by British politicians as another bland multinational. “Frankly, when another aggressive Wall Street bidder comes knocking, few outside Holland will care. Enjoy Rotterdam.”