Unilever (LON:ULVR) has shunned London in favour of Rotterdam, after confirming it would move its London HQ to the city in the wake of a year-long review.
The group has reiterated that its 7,300 employees in the UK and 3,100 in the Netherlands would be unaffected by the changes, and that its aim was to simplify its structure into a single legal entity incorporated in the Netherlands.
However, many spectators have suggested that Brexit was the reason behind the move, causing the the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to tweet a statement quelling the rumours:
The government’s response to today’s announcement from @Unilever on their long-term commitment to the UK. pic.twitter.com/6worCtfwYr
— Dept for BEIS (@beisgovuk) March 15, 2018
The Netherlands have recently implemented several initiatives to encourage multinational countries to move their HQs to the country, and the Dutch laws strong defences against unwanted bid interest will also have been a factor for Unilever, who fought off a £115 billion takeover approach by US rival Kraft a year ago.
Unilever shares are currently trading down 0.89 percent on the news at 3,869.00 (0942GMT).