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The stock market faces a fight to secure a £15 billion listing for Unilever’s ice cream business.
The consumer goods giant yesterday announced a sweeping shakeup that will split the unit, resulting in the loss of 7,500 jobs worldwide.
The split of big names like Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Magnum was welcomed by investors who were waiting to see what boss Hein Schumacher would do to revive Britain’s fourth-largest company.
But it also gave the lowdown on where the business – which had a turnover of £7bn last year – might choose to float.
London would be a natural headquarters for the standalone company, as it’s where Unilever is listed and it’s the birthplace of Wall’s, which began in a factory in Acton in 1922. But New York or Amsterdam could be chosen instead.
Top shocks: Pop star Rita Ora tries her hand at making Magnum ice cream. Unilever, Magnum’s parent company, has announced that it will spin off its ice cream business.
Schumacher said he was “open to options” over listing the new company, sparking fears that London would not be up to the task.
It would be a highly sought after list for the City, with soft words expected from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt or his potential Labor successor Rachel Reeves.
A battle is expected over the listing with a decision to be made within the next 18 months.
Unilever makes a large portion of its ice cream sales in the United States while its headquarters are in the Netherlands.
Many believe that Amsterdam could be the favorite due to commitments made with the Dutch government in recent years. 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 classify 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.
City welcomed the unexpected update, with shares rising 3.1 per cent, or 117.5p, to 3929p.
But that leaves 6,000 British workers in the lurch. They will have to wait for more details on job cuts among its 128,000 global workforce.
Yesterday Schumacher, who took over from Alan Jope in July, said the split was the next step in his strategy to “do fewer things, better”. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Investors who had despaired of Unilever’s woke agenda for many years were happy to see the company focus on its bottom line.
Its tenth shareholder, Terry Smith, approved the project and said it looked “overall positive”. Job cuts would address “overstaffing” issues, he said.
The move was also welcomed by businessman and investor Nelson Peltz, who told the Daily Mail it was an “excellent and logical decision by the board.”
