Unilever has shattered the great Brexit myth

Goldman Sachs is still operating out of London. Airbus is still making wings in Broughton, even if the order book is not looking so healthy right now. Nissan has backed its Sunderland factory. Still, at least those who are clinging to the notion that leaving the European Union would lead to a mass exodus of multinational corporations always had one company they could rely on: Unilever. The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate would surely always champion the European Union cause. It had already tried once to flee the country as it plunges over the Brexit abyss and would no doubt try again as the transition period expired.

Except, er, hold on. Not any more. Today the last bastion of Ultra-Remain, at least in business, appears to have crumbled. The company, which for decades has been based both in the Netherlands and Britain, has indeed simplified its structure so that is only based in one country rather than two.