PROUDLY overlooking the River Thames, Unilever House looks more royal palace than office building. Built on the site of a Tudor estate, for nine decades it has been the London home to Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer-goods firms. Since a merger of British soapmakers and Dutch margarine merchants in 1929, Unilever has been a dual-nationality company. It is legally domiciled in Britain and the Netherlands, with headquarters in both the London building and in Rotterdam.
The appeal of dual citizenship has faded. After a year-long review, on March 15th Unilever’s board announced plans to move its legal base to Rotterdam. (The firm will continue to have a listing in London, and claims no British jobs will be lost.) Many in the City of London finger Britain’s decision to leave the European Union for the move. But Graeme Pitkethly, the firm’s chief financial officer, insisted Brexit was “absolutely not a factor” in the decision. Over the past decade Unilever has been shifting its production facilities nearer to its customers in...Continue reading
from Business and finance https://www.economist.com/news/business/21738939-britains-largest-consumer-goods-firm-moves-its-headquarters-netherlands-unilever-picks?fsrc=rss
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