Unilever be gone: Marmite maker leaving Britain don’t matter a damn

The maker of Marmite, Unilever, has announced that it is to give up its UK headquarters and move to Holland. This doesn’t matter a damn. No, really, it’s a triviality of no import at all. It’s also nothing to do with Brexit, They even say this themselves:

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch group, said on Thursday that Brexit played no part in its decision to choose Rotterdam over London for its single legal base.

It’s always useful to take peoples’ word for such things.

Asylum seekers and economic migrants swear by it

Unilever has always been a slightly odd company anyway. It’s long been near half Dutch anyway. And it reports its results, does its internal accounting, in euros as well, something a bit odd for a UK company. But then no large multinational is really from or in any one country anyway. There’s some slight importance, mainly due to where the senior execs get to live, to where head office is. Other than that it doesn’t really make any difference.

The factories are going to remain where the factories are. That doesn’t change when HQ moves. The company will still have its shares listed in London. Because you don’t have to be a UK company to do that. In fact, there are FTSE100 members who don’t do any business at all in the UK, they just use the stock market as the place they’re listed and that’s it.

The change won’t even make any difference to taxes collected. Now, as it wasn’t in the past, we don’t tax foreign profits made by companies with an HQ in the UK. We tax only on the profits they make from business in the UK. And we tax companies without a UK HQ on exactly the same basis. Foreign profits aren’t taxed by us, profits made in the UK are.

Unilever moving HQ to Rotterdam makes very little difference therefore. Sure, a few wine bars will miss the spending of the top execs but other than that, pretty much nothing. No factories will move, tax collected won’t change, it’s all a bit of nothing in proper economic terms.

Shrug, have fun over there folks is the correct response.

Tim Worstall

Posted: 16th, March 2018 | In: Money, News, The Consumer | Comment

Snowglobes top list of confiscated airport items

In a move that should have marketing types swooning, London City airport has issued a Marmite amnesty. Passengers passing through the airport found in possession of the processed spread will not have it seized at customs so long as the jar is the new 70g miniature. Passengers will be offered the chance to exchange any larger jars in their luggage for the smaller pots for free

It’s a move that should prove popular because Marmite was found to be the most common branded food item confiscated from passengers’ hand luggage.

“With 4.5 million passengers travelling through our doors each year, we see all kinds of weird and wonderful restricted items, including Marmite,” says Melanie Burnley, director of customer experience at London City airport. “The Marmite swap is a temporary but popular addition which means that whether you love it or hate it, you’ll still be able to get your Marmite fix when travelling from this airport.”

The airport has listed the 10 most commonly confiscated items:

Snow globes
Jams and spreads
Toiletries
Jars of chutney and pickles
Olive oil
Wine
Spirits
Marmite
Nutella chocolate spread
Furry handcuffs

No sign of knives, bombs, poison and all the other stuff the officials are actually looking for.

Anorak

Posted: 1st, August 2017 | In: News, The Consumer | Comment

Marmite advert ‘mocks’ child protection agencies and fat police

AD Watch spots this Marmite advert which parodies the work of animal welfare officers. It has attracted an impressive  250 official complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

A spokesman for the ASA said complaints vary from the ad being in “poor taste” to being “deeply offensive” because it “trivialises” the work of both animal welfare charities and child protection agencies.

Anorak

Posted: 7th, August 2013 | In: The Consumer | Comment

Lancashire school refuses to serve boy Yorkshire Puddings in Marmite

TO  St Mary and St Benedict’s Catholic Primary in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, where Aryn Buchanan, 10, wants a  Yorkshire Pudding smeared in Marmite. The only other foods he eats are toast (dry), chicken dippers, chocolate and sweet. Mum and dad say young Buchanan is a “very, very fussy eater”. But the dinner ladies and the school says Aryn can eat what everyone else has or bring in packed lunch.

Anorak

Posted: 4th, October 2012 | In: Reviews | Comments (7)

Denmark Bans Marmite In Far Right Purge On Foreigners

DENMARK has outlawed Marmite. Since 2004, Denmark has forbidden the sale of foods fortified with added vitamins. Marmite contains:

Anorak

Posted: 24th, May 2011 | In: Key Posts, The Consumer | Comments (7)

Marmite Sues BNP And Hitler’s Tizer

WHAT do you have more: the BNP or Marmite? Not white Marmite – black marmite? A jar of Marmite appears in the top left-hand corner of a video broadcast on the BNP’s website. Says Marmite:

”It has been brought to our attention that the British National Party has included a Marmite jar in a political broadcast shown currently online.”

Hurrah. It’s the best of British!

”We want to make it absolutely clear that Marmite did not give the BNP permission to use a pack shot of our product in their broadcast. Neither Marmite nor any other Unilever brand are aligned to any political party.”

Anorak

Posted: 22nd, April 2010 | In: The Consumer | Comment (1)