Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever has confirmed the momentous decision to make its site in Rotterdam the main company HQ. The huge global group has been based in both Rotterdam and London since 1929, and this surprising move has been seen by many experts as a serious blow to London’s status as a global financial centre – adding further fuel to the current climate of caution and uncertainty that has emerged in the wake of the Brexit vote.

However, despite arguments for the contrary, both Unilever and the UK government have insisted that the news is unrelated to the country’s decision to leave the EU, with the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy tweeting; “As the company itself has made clear, its decision to transfer a small number of jobs to a corporate HQ in the Netherlands is part of a long-term restructuring plan of the company and is not connected to the UK’s departure from the EU.”

The company has assured that all its employees currently working in the UK and the Netherlands will not be affected by the changes, which are merely a move to making the group a “simpler, more agile and more focused business”. Indeed, although the firm will relocate some employees from London to Rotterdam, it will still retain its base in Blackfriars, London.

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