"The appointment of Alan Jope as the successor of Paul has nothing to do with the simplification process," said Chairman Marijn Dekkers, referring to the company's terminology for the HQ move.

Unilever said earlier on Thursday that Polman was retiring and would be succeeded in January by Alan Jope, the head of the Anglo-Dutch group's beauty business.

Dekkers told reporters on a call that the board had started the process a year ago to find a successor after Polman had indicated he would want to retire.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)

Stocks treated in this article : Unilever (NL), Unilever