As Unilever prepares to issue a decision on its dual legal structure, expected in March, the UK government is said to be preparing for the worst, according to a report published by The Financial Times.

An unnamed UK official, briefed on the discussions that have taken place between Greg Clark and Alex Chisholm – respectively Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – and Unilever, told the Financial Times that ‘it wouldn’t be a great surprise’ if the company opted to relocate to the Netherlands.

Unilever has delayed a decision on where to base its unified headquarters due to the ‘political turbulence’ caused by ongoing Brexit discussions. It employs 7,500 people in the UK.