Unilever postpones decision on unified main office

Unilever previously said it no longer wants to operate two main offices, spread across the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, but the decision about which one will prevail has been postponed.

Political turbulence

CEO Paul Polman informed the Financial Times that it is not the right time to move towards a unified main office. “I’m advocating to postpone decisions because it’s a moving playing field — with political turbulence out there. The emotions of the moment are really the issue,” he said. He added that the main office decision will impact the company for the next thirty to fifty years and it needs reflection. Chances are he wants to wait until the Brexit, which he firmly opposed, has been finalized.

Unilever has worked with this double structure for years, with main offices in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It is also listed in both countries. Ever since it announced it wanted to abandon this approach, both countries have lobbied extensively to convince Unilever.

The United Kingdom wants to demonstrate it will still be the ideal location for major multinationals after the brexit and Dutch Minister-President Mark Rutte, who used to work for Unilever, is also doing everything he can to convince the company. However, it now seems both countries will have to wait a while for a definitive answer.