Nelson Peltz's Trian cuts stake in Unilever

Billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has offloaded around 3.8 million shares in Unilever for nearly £181 million.

Prior to the transaction, Trian held a 1.47% stake or 36.6 million shares in the owner of Dove and Vaseline, worth about £1.4 billion.

The New York-based investment firm had been Unilever’s fifth largest shareholder. It now holds around 32.6 million shares.

Trian started building its stake in Unilever in 2022, the same year Peltz joined the group's board as a Non-Executive Director.

During his career, Peltz has also served on the boards of several other global consumer goods companies, including Procter & Gamble.

The news comes after Unilever posted a large increase in margins last month as more lucrative products sold well in the face of the global cost crisis.

Turnover across the company reached £24.1 billion ($31.1 billion), reflecting a 2.3% rise on the same period last year.

It came amid a challenging backdrop for the business, which is partway through a turnaround effort that includes plans to cut about a third of all office jobs in Europe by the end of 2025.

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said the company had made progress on "high-quality sales growth and gross margin expansion".