Unilever’s ice cream arm set for Amsterdam main listing in blow to London

Consumer giant Unilever has said it plans to give its ice cream business a primary stock market listing in Amsterdam when it is spun off later this year, in another blow to London’s financial markets.

The Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum maker announced plans last year for a demerger of the ice cream arm as part of a major turnaround plan.

It said on Thursday that the division, which makes around 14% of Unilever’s turnover, will have a primary listing in Amsterdam, alongside additional listings in London and New York.

Unilever has appointed Vodafone chairman Jean-Francois van Boxmeer to chair the business, which will be headquartered in Amsterdam.

The decision to have multiple listings comes after pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz to list the company in the US.

Nevertheless, the decision to have a primary listing in the Netherlands is a fresh blow to the London stock exchange, where Unilever has its main listing.

Boss Hein Schumacher stressed that the company is still committed to investing in the UK, including in its ice cream innovation and development site in Colworth, near Bedford.

He added that investment plans at its sites, including its Gloucester food manufacturing factory, were boosted by Government plans to halt the planned introduction of ‘not for EU’ labelling on products made in the UK.

The firm is currently undergoing a major overhaul, which includes plans to cut around 7,500 jobs, under Mr Schumacher.

He has also indicated the company is looking to trim down the number of brands in its food division and focus more attention on its biggest sellers.

It came as the group, which also owns brands including Hellmann’s, Dove and Persil, saw shares slip in early trading after it pointed to “soft” growth over the start of this year.

The firm revealed that turnover increased by 1.9% to 60.8 billion euros (£50.7 billion) in 2024.

Mr Schumacher said: “Today’s results reflect a year of significant activity as we focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher performing business.

“Market growth, which slowed throughout 2024, is expected to remain soft in the first half of 2025.

“The steps we have taken in 2024, including the launch of our refreshed strategy, further reinvestment in our brands and strong innovation pipelines leave us better positioned to deliver on our ambitions in the years ahead.”

Shares in the company were down 7% in early trading.