The boss of Unilever will come under pressure to defend his controversial strategy as he unveils its half-year results next week.

Chief executive Fernando Fernandez is expected to update investors on his plans to focus the conglomerate - which owns household names including Dove, Marmite and Tresemme - on its beauty and personal care division.

Fernandez has come under fire for agreeing to combine products, including Marmite and Hellmann’s, with US spice giant McCormick in a £33billion deal.

Veteran fund manager Terry Smith, who sold his entire stake in Unilever earlier this year, has accused Unilever of misleading him over its split-up. He said the McCormick deal has ‘all the hallmarks’ of activist investor Nelson Peltz. 

Peltz – who has been on the Unilever board since 2022 – is reported to have been a key advocate of the McCormick deal. He has previously agitated for change at companies including Cadbury and PepsiCo.

The McCormick tie-up is seen by some in the City as unfair for Unilever investors who cannot vote on it. It came after Unilever spun off Magnum ice cream, which listed in Amsterdam last year.

Investors will also be looking for signs that Fernandez has succeeded in revitalising sales growth at its key brands, which may have seen a boost after sponsoring the World Cup this summer.

Sales for the quarter to the end of June are set to have reached just under £11billion, according to analysts.

And the City is predicting the group will have seen volumes grow 2.7 per cent over the first six months of its financial year - compared to 1.5 per cent in the same period last year.

Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said: ‘Investors will be looking for evidence that Unilever can continue to grow volumes alongside anticipated price hikes, suggesting consumers are still willing to pay up rather than trade down.’