Shareholders of oil giant Shell (NYSE:RDS) have voted in favour of the company relocating its headquarters to London, England from The Netherlands.
Shell said it will retain a large presence in The Netherlands and the move is intended to simplify its corporate structure, as well as accelerate returns to investors while cutting the company’s corporate taxes.
The move also follows a Dutch court’s ruling that the oil and gas giant must speed up its carbon emissions cuts, and a decision by the country’s largest pension fund to sell its holdings in fossil fuel producers due to climate concerns.
Shell is seeking to convince investors, governments and environmental groups that it can transform itself into a clean energy producer while still providing generous payouts.
Key to that plan, the company says, is consolidating all of its shares in one country, making it easier to buy and sell assets, as well as return cash to shareholders.
In all, 99.8% of votes cast by shareholders were in favor of the proposal. The resolution also drops "Royal Dutch" from the company name, because Shell expects it will no longer meet the conditions for using the honorary designation.
Shell’s board still needs to hold a meeting to give final approval to the move and name change. The company expects the process to be completed in early 2022.
