Unilever moves ice cream business listing to Amsterdam instead of London

Unilever has announced its ice cream division, worth over €8 billion in annual sales revenue, will have Amsterdam as its primary listing once the division is demerged from the rest of the company. The decision comes as a blow to UK business, though CEO Hans Schumacher remarks that Unilever’s choice “is not a snub to London or to the UK.” 

Unilever voted to spin off its ice cream division into a standalone business and cut 7,500 jobs in March 2024. The separation began immediately and was part of an overhaul the company says will save around €800 million (US$867.8 million) in costs over three years. 

The “productivity program” is intended to drive faster growth and higher margins while better positioning brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Magnum.

Recently, Unilever announced its full results for 2024, showing an underlying sales growth of 4.2%, led by 2.9% volume growth. Turnover increased 1.9% year on year to €60.8 billion (US$63.7 billion). 

Schumacher says that the growth achieved last year is testament to the company’s growth action plan (GAP2030) strategy.

“All Business Groups delivered positive volume growth for the year. Growth was underpinned by gross margin expansion of 280bps, fuelling increases in brand investment and profitability,” he says. 

“The comprehensive productivity programme we announced in March is being implemented at pace and we are ahead of plan in helping to create a leaner and more accountable organisation. We are taking decisive actions in Indonesia, where long-standing challenges required a reset of the business, and China, where we are transforming our go-to-market approach during a market slowdown. We expect to see the benefits of these actions from the second half of 2025.”

“The separation of Ice Cream remains on track and we are making good progress on the key workstreams. We announce today the appointment of the Chair Designate for the demerged Ice Cream business and details of the listing structure.”

“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 GAP2030 strategy, further reinvestment in our brands and strong innovation pipelines leave us better positioned to deliver on our ambitions in the years ahead.”