- Dutch Economy Minister meets Unilever’s Hein Schumacher
- Schumacher considers where to list £15bn spin-off
- Micky Adriaansens will argue for its listing on the Amsterdam stock exchange
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The Dutch have launched a battle to try to win a float for Unilever’s ice cream business.
Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Micky Adriaansens will meet the consumer goods giant’s Dutch chief executive Hein Schumacher to consider where to list the £15bn spin-off.
Adriaansens will advocate for the makers of Ben & Jerry’s and Wall’s to be listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. But ministers and City grandees have been urged to discuss the merits of the London Stock Exchange with Unilever in order to make a decision over the next 18 months.
The Dutch believe Schumacher’s remarks that he is “open to all options” for a listing are a “positive signal in line with previous commitments”, a Dutch ministry spokesperson said.
“We are and will remain in discussions with Unilever on this matter.”
Sweet: Univer boss Hein Schumacher and Dutch minister Micky Adriaansens to meet to discuss ice cream float
The Dutch are confident they can win this coveted listing after assurances given by Unilever to the government four years ago.
In 2020, Unilever continued its project to simplify its structure and chose the United Kingdom as its official base. But at the time, the Dutch government “asked for reassurance that if Unilever ever chose to list its food and refreshments division as an independent company, it would be incorporated and listed in the Netherlands.” In 2022, the division was split into two parts, nutrition and ice cream.
The Treasury refused to confirm whether ministers would meet Unilever executives or whether they had been in contact.
But it clearly showed that London was one of the leading stock markets, with larger capital reserves than Amsterdam. City Minister Bim Afolami said: “The UK continues to be the leading investment hub in Europe, raising more capital than Amsterdam and Frankfurt combined in 2023, and we want to encourage businesses from all sizes to register in the UK.
He added: “We have developed reforms to strengthen the UK as a destination for IPOs (initial public offerings), including making it easier for companies to list more quickly.
“We are also reforming our capital markets to deepen capital pools and improve market liquidity.” But prominent figures have demanded that ministers and city bosses launch an aggressive charm offensive to land the listing.
Baroness Altmann, pensions minister under David Cameron and Theresa May, said more needed to be done.
She told the Mail: “It is urgent that we do everything we can to revive the UK financial markets. Our own pension funds should take the lead in investing more in this area, but they seem to have abandoned their traditional role.
“Having a London listing should be much more encouraged than it currently is.”
There are fears that London could lose out either to the stock markets of Amsterdam or New York, or to a private equity predator.
That would rub salt in the wounds of the city, which is experiencing an exodus of businesses to other markets.
The UK was also snubbed when Cambridge chipmaker Arm opted to list in the US, despite ministers rolling out the red carpet.