Shell moves its head office to the UK and becomes British

Oil and gas company Shell wants to become fully British on paper. The Group will present this change to its shareholders. The head office will also be moved to the United Kingdom, where, among other things, board and management meetings will be held. Shell wants, among other things, to end the current share structure with two types of shares.

Investors have been complaining for some time about the current structure of various stocks. No dividend tax must be paid on UK shares. This should be the case with Dutch stocks. Rutte III initially wanted to abolish the profits tax, but changed his mind after criticism from the House of Representatives.

It is known that Shell, like the food group Unilever, was in favor of abolishing the profits tax. That plan failed in The Hague, and Unilever subsequently decided to become fully British on paper. Information and data supplier RELX (formerly Reed Elsevier) has also 'relocated' to the UK.

It is strongly associated with the Netherlands

Shell has also previously hinted that it is considering such a move. CEO Ben van Beurden promises that Shell will remain strongly linked to the Netherlands, despite the intended move. According to him, it is mainly about Shell's role in the energy transition. “I am well aware that today's announcement represents a difficult message for many people. However, I would like to stress that simplifying our structure is essential to accelerating our strategy. This way we can play a leading role in the energy transition.

According to Shell, van Beurden and CFO Jessica Uhl will depart for the UK. A number of directors followed in the duo's wake. Shell remains active in the Netherlands by developing renewable energy and other energy innovations. This happens from The Hague and Amsterdam.

Shell confirms that this intended step has no consequences for the activities of Shell Netherlands. “Shell also remains a major player in the Netherlands,” emphasizes Marjan van Loon, who heads Shell in the Netherlands. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the plan on December 10.

According to Van Beurden, there was never any discussion of a full move to the Netherlands on paper. As in the case of Unilever, Shell shareholders would not have agreed to this, according to him. By becoming an entirely Dutch company on paper, Shell would lose, among other things, its place in London's leading FTSE stock index. Many shareholders would not have accepted this. With the shift to London, Shell will continue to be listed on the AEX index in Amsterdam.

The Council of Ministers regrets the departure

The government was unpleasantly surprised by the decision of the oil and gas group Shell to move its head office to the United Kingdom. This was stated by outgoing Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Blok.

The Cabinet was informed on Sunday that it “deeply regrets” Shell's move. “We are in discussions with Shell senior management about the consequences of this plan for jobs, critical investment decisions and sustainability. “It is very important,” says Blok. Shell has informed the government that the personnel consequences “are limited to the transfer of a number of executive/board positions from the Netherlands.” To the United Kingdom.

The employers' organization VNO-NCW is also disappointed. “This is a big loss for the Netherlands. With Shell's departure, the Dutch business climate will deteriorate. According to VNO-NCW, the presence of the head offices of major international companies is an attraction for activity from all over the world.

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