Shareholders FAQs

• depositary receipts for ordinary shares (ISIN NL0000009355)

• ordinary shares (ISIN NL0000388619) (as New York registry shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange (CUSIP 904784709)

Unilever N.V. shares are held through a bank or broker or as registered shares on the share register. The ordinary shares can also be held in the form of New York registry shares. The depositary receipts for shares can only be held in 'electronic' form through a bank or broker.

New York registry shares are issued by a US transfer agent and registrar (Deutsche Bank Trust Company America) on behalf of Unilever NV and created against the cancellation of the local share by the local registrar. One New York registry share is the equivalent of one Unilever NV ordinary share (or depositary receipt thereof). Dividends on the New York registry shares are (after exchange) paid in US dollars.

The majority (around 62%) of the Unilever NV ordinary shares are registered to an independent trust company - Stichting Administratiekantoor Unilever NV ('Foundation Unilever NV Trust Office').

Both the shares as well as the depositary receipts thereof are listed on Euronext Amsterdam. Holders of depositary receipts can under all circumstances exchange their depositary receipts for the Unilever NV shares (or vice versa). Holders of depositary receipts are fully entitled to dividends that are paid on the (underlying) shares held by the Foundation Unilever NV Trust Office. The Foundation issues (and exchanges) the depositary receipts. Further information about the Foundation Unilever NV Trust Office can be found on their website. 

Historical share prices are available from the Historic share price section of the website.

Unilever NV's (Dutch) share register is maintained by SGG Netherlands NV and all associated administration is carried out by them. Matters for their attention include:

• registering and transferring your shares

• change of address

• change of bank details

• payment of dividends

• death of a shareholder

• information about voting by written proxy

Please find SGG Netherlands NV’s contact details on our Contacts page.

Matters that should be brought to the attention of your broker or bank include:

• cancellation of depositary receipts and entry in the share register

• payment of dividends

• death of a shareholder or holder of depositary receipts

If you are holder of Unilever NV shares or depositary receipts thereof and you wish to be registered on the Unilever NV share register, you will need to contact your bank or broker.

Get dates and a reminder of our annual general meeting from our financial calendar.

If you hold your shares in the (Dutch) share register, you will receive a voting instruction about six weeks in advance of the meeting.

Please find Computershare Investor Services' contact details on our Contacts page.

A dealing service is administered by our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC and is available online or by telephone. 

The fee for the internet service is 1% of the value of each sale or purchase of shares (subject to a minimum of £30). Limit orders are available for sales only and there is no additional charge for this service; stamp duty of 0.5% is also payable on all purchases. Further information can be found by using the following link and following the onscreen prompts: https://www-uk.computershare.com/Investor/ShareDealing.asp

For your information, these services are available to sole shareholders or up to two named joint holders for holdings in most companies. Shares registered in a Company name may not be sold through our dealing services. When using either of the above services, please ensure that you have your Shareholder Reference Number (SRN) to hand. You can find this number on a share certificate or statement, this will commence with one alphabetical character (e.g. 'C' for Charlie or 'I' for Indigo), followed by 10 numerical digits. 

If the shareholding is represented by a share certificate, please ensure that you are in possession of the valid share certificate(s) before proceeding with either a telephone or internet sale. Failure to do this may result in the sale being rejected and you may incur additional costs. 

Alternatively, the shares may be sold by contacting a bank, stockbroker or financial advisor. 

Remember that the value of your shares may go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount of your investments.

Please complete a stock transfer form and return it (with stamp duty paid where appropriate) to Computershare Investor Services PLC together with your share certificate(s). For further information, please contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC.

Please contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC, who will be able to arrange a replacement certificate for you. You should notify the Registrars immediately so that a restriction can be placed on the relevant holding in case of any attempted fraud. You will then be sent a letter of indemnity, which must be completed and returned to the Registrars so that a replacement certificate can be issued. Please note that there is a charge for this service.

You can access your own shareholder account by registering on the website of our Registrars (Computershare Investor Services PLC). To obtain access you will require your own unique Shareholder Reference Number, as detailed on your share certificate or dividend tax voucher. You will also be asked for confirmation of your postcode or country of residence. Please visit the Registrars website at www.computershare.com.

If you are simply want your current balance, a request can be made by telephone or fax to our Registrars.

Please find Computershare Investor Services PLC contact details on our Contacts page.

If the shareowner is the sole holder you should notify the Registrars as soon as possible who will placed a restriction on the holding to retain dividends until probate is registered. You will then be sent a 'Notification of Death' letter which explains what is required from the executor or administrator of the Estate.

If the shares are held in joint names, the account can be re-registered in the sole name of the other owner(s). To do this you should notify the registrars in writing, enclosing the original share certificate and the original death certificate, so that a replacement certificate can be issued in the new name(s).

Please find Computershare Investor Services PLC contact details on our Contacts page.

The latest Unilever share price information is available from the share price section of this website, which is accessible by clicking on share price within the useful links box of this screen.

Historical share prices are available from the Historic share price section of the website.

This could be because you have more than one account showing on the Unilever PLC share register arising from inconsistencies in your name and/or address. If you would like to amalgamate your accounts to ensure this does not happen in the future, please contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC. To receive your shareholder information directly by e-mail please register online at Computershare.

If you have already completed a letter of indemnity and returned it to the Registrars, the original certificate is now invalid, and you should send the certificate to the Registrars to be cancelled. If you have not yet returned it, you should send the letter of indemnity back to the Registrars with a covering letter confirming that you have found the certificate and no longer require a replacement to be issued. The Registrars will still require the Administration Fee associated with the indemnity to be paid.

Please contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC, on our Contacts page.

To receive news updates, please subscribe to Sign-up for press releases. If you would like to receive local news, please visit your local Unilever website by selecting your chosen country from the menu in the top right hand corner of this page.

Information on our annual general meeting is available by clicking on AGM & Voting.

Yes, you will receive a proxy form with the Notice of the Meeting if appropriate about five weeks in advance of the meeting.