299
Fashion Jobs
L'OREAL GROUP
Assistant CRM Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Key Account Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
H&M
Total Rewards Manager, Supply Chain
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
H&M
Accounts Specialist
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
Assistant Demand Planning Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
ESTÉE LAUDER - BRAND
Retail Marketing Manager, Estée Lauder
Permanent · HONG KONG
CLINIQUE
Assistant Education Manager, Clinique
Permanent · HONG KONG
CLINIQUE
Senior Marketing Manager, Clinique
Permanent · HONG KONG
TOMMY HILFIGER
Senior Manager, Creative Services, Tommy Hilfiger Asia Pacific
Permanent · HONG KONG
AESOP
Retail Consultant
Permanent · SHA TIN
NEWELL
Senior Manager, Indirect Sourcing
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Group Product Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
ADIDAS
Senior Manager, Materials Availability Management
Permanent · HONG KONG
L'OREAL GROUP
Assistant Purchasing Manager (Marketing, Digital IT)
Permanent · HONG KONG
PUMA
Manager Innovation Technical Apparel
Permanent · HONG KONG
DR. MARTENS
Head of Financial Accounting, Apac
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
TJX COMPANIES
Director of Sourcing, Apparel -Hong Kong
Permanent · HONG KONG
A & F
Hollister CO. - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Hysan Place
Permanent · CAUSEWAY BAY
A & F
Hollister CO. - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Yoho Mall
Permanent · HONG KONG
A & F
Abercrombie & Fitch - Brand Representative (Part-Time / Full-Time), Harbour City
Permanent · TSIM SHA TSUI
KERING EYEWEAR
Kering Eyewear Assistant Trade Marketing Manager Travel Retail
Permanent · HONG KONG
JAEGER
Training Manager
Permanent · HONG KONG
By
Reuters
Published
Sep 18, 2018
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Top 10 Unilever shareholder may vote against plan to go Dutch

By
Reuters
Published
Sep 18, 2018

Unilever shareholder Lindsell Train is likely to use at least some of its shares to vote against the company's planned move to the Netherlands, which will cost the consumer goods giant its spot in the benchmark FTSE 100.

Reuters


The British asset manager - the third-largest owner of Unilever Plc shares, according to Thomson Reuters data - joins a growing chorus of concern against the move, aimed at simplifying Unilever’s dual-headed Anglo-Dutch structure.

“We admire Unilever as a company and have a high regard for its current executive team and board, but on this issue we will vote in the interests of our various clients as we judge appropriate,” Nick Train, co-founder of the British asset management firm, said in an emailed statement.

He spelled out various reasons why its British clients would be disadvantaged by the move to end its dual-headed structure.

He said Unilever ceasing to be a benchmark UK stock was “at the very least an inconvenience” for all UK funds, while those who only invest in the benchmark may become “forced sellers”.

Train also cited “a new risk” from the possibility of a Dutch withholding tax on dividends once Unilever redomiciles to the Netherlands.

He noted the mitigation Unilever has offered against this threat but said the company is not offering “a perpetuity guarantee” that shareholders will never suffer from future changes in Dutch tax policy.

Lindsell Train, which owns a 2.38 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data, did not give a breakdown on how many of its clients were based in Britain.
Train’s comments come after a fellow top-20 shareholder, Aviva, told the Financial Times that it plans to vote against the proposal.

A third, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, has also voiced concern about the move, though some non-British investors are more sanguine.

A fourth investor, invested in both the UK and Dutch shares, said it made sense to rationalise the headquarters.

“Having two sets of headquarters and two listings is not always the most efficient,” said the investor, who declined to be identified.

The Unilever move requires approval by 75 percent of UK shareholders and 50 percent of Dutch shareholders. The votes will take place on Oct. 25 in the Netherlands and Oct. 26 in London.

Unilever has said it is “very confident” of securing the required votes.
Unilever shares were down 0.2 percent in London at 1518 GMT.

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.