Top 10 Largest Family Offices in Benelux (2025)

Top 10 Largest Family Offices in Benelux (2025)

Why Benelux matters in 2025

Benelux is where “quiet balance sheets” meet world-scale operating DNA. Dutch industrial dynasties run patient holding companies; Belgium’s business families compound through listed and private platforms; Luxembourg hosts pan-European vehicles that act like institutional allocators with a family time horizon. The result in 2025: a dense, professional, and globally networked pool of family capital—open to co-underwritten deals, secondaries, and sector platforms when structure and governance are right.

Methodology. As with your UK/Ireland article, we prioritize scale + intent over headline AUM (usually undisclosed): (1) control stakes or listed holdings and dividend capacity; (2) repeatable direct-deal activity; (3) real-asset footprints; (4) dated 2024–2025 signals (results, capital raises, portfolio actions). Where families act through holding companies or family-controlled banks, we treat those entities as the relevant “family office” node, because that’s the counterparty sponsors face in practice.

The List (alphabetical, not ordinal)

1) Ackermans & van Haaren (AvH) — Belgium

What it is. A diversified, Antwerp-based compounding platform with long-term holdings spanning dredging/energy (DEME), private banking (Delen, Bank Van Breda), real assets, and growth capital. In H1 2025, AvH posted a €273.2m record net profit and raised full-year guidance (+≥15%), underscoring earnings breadth and cash-flow quality across core participations.
Why it matters. AvH behaves like a family-grade institution: disciplined capital rotation, governance depth, and a clear preference for businesses with durable moats.
Signals to cite. Strength across DEME and private banking drove the H1 record; AvH entered H2 with a €431m net cash position—firepower for add-ons and selective newlines.

2) Cobepa — Belgium/Luxembourg

What it is. An independent, privately held investment company (Brussels, New York) with €5.1bn NAV, 21 active portfolio companies, and 100+ transactions since 2004—a top-tier Benelux family-capital platform by activity and professionalism.
Why it matters. Cobepa offers stable, patient capital with institutional underwriting—ideal for upper-mid to large deals needing a supportive owner rather than a timing-sensitive fund.
Signals to cite. 2024–2025 materials emphasize long-duration partnership and responsible prosperity, aligning with LP-grade RI expectations.

3) Exor N.V. (Agnelli family) — Netherlands (domicile)

What it is. A Netherlands-domiciled holding for the Agnelli family’s global interests. In 2024–2025 Exor deepened its pivot into healthcare, notably raising its Philips stake: 17.51% (June 2024) and 18.7% (March 2025), consolidating its role as Philips’ largest shareholder.
Why it matters. Benelux domicile plus global scale makes Exor both a signal and a partner: it underwrites multi-year turnarounds and platform plays, bringing board-level discipline and patient equity.
Signals to cite. Philips shares rallied after Exor’s initial entry (2023) and subsequent increases, as governance and remediation advanced—useful context when pitching regulated health tech and medtech services.

4) Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) — Belgium (Frère/Desmarais families)

What it is. One of Europe’s most prominent family-anchored holding companies. Beyond listed stakes (historically Adidas, etc.), GBL has been re-weighting its private-assets mix. In September 2025 it launched a large LP-led secondaries process to rebalance beyond traditional fund commitments—clear evidence of portfolio engineering at scale.
Why it matters. GBL’s secondaries activity signals sophistication and liquidity management—good news for sponsors running continuation funds or structured liquidity solutions.
Signals to cite. 2024 disclosures showed the shift already in motion (press releases, platform build-out). In Oct 2024, GBL also trimmed Adidas exposure while reiterating strategic support—an emblematic, data-pointed rotation.

5) HAL Investments / HAL Trust (van der Vorm family) — Netherlands

What it is. A Rotterdam-rooted holding with a maritime pedigree and a playbook of concentrated, long-horizon ownership. H1 2025: €1.024bn net income and €847m NAV accretion—evidence of compounding capacity and deal discipline.
Why it matters. HAL brings industrial grade underwriting and the balance sheet to match. The July 2025 LOI with Boskalis and VolkerWessels shows its continued role as a Dutch industrial orchestrator.
Signals to cite. The AGM (May 2025) approved all resolutions; the cadence of releases (Jan–Aug 2025) offers public timestamps sponsors can quote in diligence narratives.

6) Korys (Colruyt family) — Belgium

What it is. The entrepreneurial investment company of the Colruyt family, organized around Conscious Consumer, Healthy Living, Energy Transition. In September 2025 Korys took a minority stake in Euro Company (Italy; dried fruits) to back international expansion—fresh evidence of values-aligned consumer deployment.
Why it matters. Korys is an active, values-led platform that also co-built Virya Energy with Colruyt (renewables). In March 2024 Colruyt agreed to sell ~30% of Virya to Korys—an internal re-weighting that freed liquidity and tightened Korys’ energy hold.
Signals to cite. Third-party roundups peg Korys’ AUM around $4.5bn, making it a heavyweight among Belgian FOs.

7) SHV Holdings / NPM Capital / BORON (Fentener van Vlissingen family) — Netherlands

What it is. SHV is one of the Netherlands’ emblematic family groups (energy distribution, testing/inspection via Kiwa, heavy lifting via Mammoet). Through NPM Capital, the family runs growth and buyout investments; BORON is the J.A. Fentener van Vlissingen branch’s investment arm.
Why it matters. This “cluster” demonstrates how large Dutch families professionalize across multiple vehicles. In August 2025, the Port of Rotterdam Authority partnered with NPM Capital—a timely datapoint on NPM’s industrial positioning. SHV
Signals to cite. June 2025: BORON increased its stake to a majority in Omniboxx (real-estate software), a concrete 2025 deployment signal at the digital-built-world edge. boron.nl

8) Sofina (Boël family) — Belgium

What it is. A listed family holding and LP/GP hybrid spanning direct growth investments and fund commitments across tech, healthcare, and consumer. The September 23, 2025 Prospectus details 85 direct holdings as of June 30, 2025, framing scale and diversification; investor commentary from the 2025 AGM reiterates a decades-long compounding mindset and FX sensitivity.
Why it matters. Few European family platforms match Sofina’s manager network and crossover deal flow—relevant for GPs seeking both LP capital and direct co-invest.
Signals to cite. The 2025 materials offer crisp portfolio transparency and currency-risk framing—useful when aligning reporting cadences with family office expectations.

9) Verlinvest (AB InBev founding families: de Spoelberch, de Mévius) — Belgium/Luxembourg

What it is. The growth-equity platform seeded by AB InBev family dividends. 2025 media coverage places Verlinvest’s assets at €2bn+, with active allocations across consumer, health, and sustainable brands—plus family diversification into mobility niches.
Why it matters. Verlinvest pairs true family patience with global consumer chops. It’s a credible anchor for category builders that need multi-round support and brand scaffolding.
Signals to cite. Background pieces note leadership transitions inside the de Mévius branch over the past decade; Verlinvest has continued to globalize its remit beyond beverages.

10) AtlasInvest (Marcel van Poecke family office) — Belgium/Netherlands

What it is. The energy-focused SFO of Marcel avan Poecke, founder of Petroplus and chair of Carlyle International Energy Partners; AtlasInvest invests across conventional and renewable energy, often at platform scale.
Why it matters. Deep technical literacy and cycle awareness—exactly what sponsors need when structuring infra, specialty finance for energy assets, or transitional fuels.
Signals to cite. Public profiles and sector notes (2024–2025) keep highlighting AtlasInvest’s role at the intersection of family capital and institutional energy private equity.

The Benelux difference (and how to use it)

1) Holding-company discipline. Dutch families (HAL, SHV) and Belgian platforms (AvH, GBL) run like listed institutions: explicit guidance, half-year reports, and observable capital rotation. Quote those filings in your deck to de-risk “fit.”

2) Secondaries as a strategy, not a stigma. GBL’s LP-led process (Sep 2025) is a case study in using secondaries to reshape exposure—good news for managers running continuation funds or selling structured strips.

3) Values + yield. Korys blends impact with hard-nosed portfolio actions (Euro Company minority, Virya re-weight). That combination travels: if your thesis aligns to “healthy living” or energy transition with cash discipline, Korys-style families will listen.

4) Healthcare gravity. Exor’s Philips build shows Benelux-domiciled family capital is comfortable underwriting regulated healthcare turnarounds—bring real governance, quality metrics, and remediation roadmaps.

5) Industrial adjacency matters. SHV/NPM/BORON’s 2025 activity (ports, built-world software) and AvH’s DEME/Delen engines point to a premium on assets with operating leverage and defensible services.

How to pitch Benelux family capital (and win)

Lead with governance. Benelux families respond to concrete IC processes: dated KPIs, audit-ready reporting, board packs, and down-case math. Quote half-year filings back to them to show you understand cadence.

Show the compounding path. These groups value “own for a decade”—platform logic, bolt-on map, and capital allocation rules beat a hockey-stick chart.

Offer alignment mechanics. Co-control, SPVs with pref equity and protective covenants, and co-invest rights appeal to owners trained in operating companies.

Use secondaries smartly. If you need liquidity or re-ups, frame GP-leds and LP-leds as portfolio engineering—the GBL precedent is on your side.

Mind local networks. Port authorities, banks, and engineering firms matter in the Netherlands; brand/retail HNWs and financial holding groups matter in Belgium; Luxembourg is a structuring hub—plan your approach route accordingly.

Quick briefings you can quote

• AvH: €273.2m record profit in H1 2025; ≥15% FY net-result uplift guided; €431m net cash.
• Cobepa: €5.1bn NAV, 21 portfolio companies; Brussels/New York footprint.
• Exor: Philips stake increased to 17.51% (Jun 2024) and 18.7% (Mar 2025); top shareholder.
• GBL: running a large LP-led secondaries process (Sep 2025) to rebalance beyond fund commitments; trimmed Adidas stake in 2024 while reiterating support.
• HAL: €1.024bn net income and €847m NAV increase in H1 2025; LOI with Boskalis + VolkerWessels (Jul 2025).
• Korys: minority in Euro Company (Sep 2025); Virya Energy re-weight (Mar 2024). AUM guides around $4.5bn in third-party lists.
• SHV/NPM/BORON: NPM partnered with Port of Rotterdam (Aug 2025); BORON took majority of Omniboxx (Jun 2025).
• Sofina: 85 direct holdings as of June 30, 2025; decades-long compounding mindset reiterated at the 2025 AGM/briefings.
• Verlinvest: €2bn+ assets cited in 2025 coverage; global consumer/health focus.
• AtlasInvest: energy-specialist SFO tied to Marcel van Poecke; bridges family capital with institutional energy PE.

Bottom line

Benelux family offices aren’t chasing headlines; they’re engineering portfolios. If you bring dated signals, governance clarity, and a compounding map (not just a model), these balance sheets will meet you halfway—often with co-control, co-invest, and secondaries-savvy structures that outlast the cycle.