Shell is planning to become a completely British company and will move its headquarters from The Hague to Britain, the oil and gas giant said in a press release on Monday.

Shell says that by simplifying its structure, it will be able to react more quickly and more flexibly. ‘The simplification is designed to strengthen Shell’s competitiveness and accelerate both shareholder distributions and the delivery of its strategy to become a net-zero emissions business,’ the company said.

Shell has been incorporated in the UK with Dutch tax residence and a dual share structure since 2005 but its origins as a dual company date back to 1907 when Koninklijke Olie merged with Shell Transport and Trading.

The company said it is ‘proud of its Anglo-Dutch heritage and will continue to be a significant employer with a major presence in the Netherlands.’

The plan will be put to shareholders at a meeting in Rotterdam on December 10.

Unilever

Shell is not the first Anglo-Dutch company to make such a move.

Last September Unilever shareholders voted 99% in favour of plans to move the company’s headquarters to London and to become a completely British company.

The company had originally planned to consolidate its headquarter operations in Rotterdam but changed tack following pressure from several large investors in the UK.

A spokesman for economic affairs minister Stef Blok told the Financieele Dagblad that the government ‘deeply regrets’ Shell’s plan and that it has been ‘unpleasantly surprised’ by the news.

Shell says its global focus on renewable energy will continue to be steered from The Hague and Amsterdam.

The company’s  Integrated Gas & Renewables and Energy Solutions, Upstream and Projects & Technology units will stay in The Hague and there will be no impact on the company’s activities in the Netherlands, including the Pernis refinery, the company said.

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