Royal Dutch Shell has this morning announced it will move its global headquarters and tax residency from the Netherlands to the UK. In a major shakeup that will also see the energy giant scrap its dual share structure in favour of a single class of shares – and drop “Royal Dutch” from its name – the company confirmed it would vote to implement the measures at a shareholders’ meeting on 10th December. Guido’s old enough to remember the New European opining both Shell and Unilever should “take advantage of lower corporate taxes in the Netherlands” post-Brexit…
Speaking this morning, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng called the move “a clear vote of confidence in the British economy” that would “strengthen competitiveness, attract investment and create jobs”, with Shell Chairman Andrew Mackenzie adding that the plans would allow the company to “strengthen [its] competitiveness and accelerate both shareholder distributions and delivery of its strategy to become a net-zero emissions energy company”. The Dutch government, meanwhile, called the move “an unwelcome surprise”…
