An enquiry
What is being proposed, and whether it is within what we do.
Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders · Since 2008
A holding is not
A holding is not
an investment firm.
We hold our own participations and support the companies in them. We do not manage anyone else's money, offer investment services or solicit funds, and we hold no FSMA authorisation to do so. If that is what you are looking for, we are the wrong company.
- 2008active since
- Ownaccount only
- NoFSMA licence
- Arm'slength fees
What we do
Four functions, one boundary
Everything is done for companies we hold an interest in, on our own account, never for third parties.
Holding participations
Holding interests in companies, as a shareholder with its own capital at risk.
See the programManagement support
Management and day-to-day involvement in the companies we hold, documented and priced defensibly.
See the programGovernance and representation
Representation of held companies and, where we hold a directorship, a designated permanent representative.
See the programCorporate obligations
Annual accounts, the UBO register, and consolidation where the thresholds require it.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Hold participations with our own capital, decline anything that would amount to managing third-party money, document management services and price them defensibly, and put a named individual behind every directorship.
The boundary stated
We hold our own interests; we manage nobody else's money.
Services documented
What was delivered, by whom, and how the fee was set.
Obligations kept current
Accounts, UBO confirmation, consolidation thresholds.
Working together
Ways we engage
Negotiated case by case. We do not accept mandates to manage or place third-party funds at any price.
A participation
Taking an interest in a business, with our own capital.
- Our own capital at risk
- Long holding horizon
- Direct with the principals
- Your own advisers encouraged
- No external investors involved
Management support
Management and governance support to a company we hold.
- Services defined in writing
- Delivered by named people
- Documented as performed
- Priced at arm's length
- Permanent representative designated
What we will not do
Said plainly, because it needs authorisation.
- No managing third-party money
- No investment advice or services
- No soliciting funds from the public
- No fees without substance
- No accountancy, tax, audit or legal work
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A holding company, and what that does not mean
G. VERNIERS is a company incorporated under Belgian law, registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under enterprise number 0898.652.936, based at De Meulenaerstraat in 9100 Sint-Niklaas and active since June 2008. Its registered activity at the seat is that of a holding company, and its establishment carries holding management activity: involvement in day-to-day management and representation of companies on the basis of the shareholdings held.
The word holding reliably attracts approaches it should not, so the boundary is worth stating first. We hold participations with our own capital. We do not manage money belonging to anyone else, do not provide investment services or advice, do not place financial instruments and do not solicit funds from the public — all of which would require authorisation from the FSMA that we neither hold nor claim. Nothing on this site is an offer of securities or an invitation to invest. Second, where we charge management fees to a company we hold, those fees correspond to services actually rendered by identifiable people at a price that can be substantiated; fees without substance are disallowed, and the adjustment falls on the paying company as well as on us. And where we accept a directorship, Belgian law requires us to designate a permanent representative, a named individual carrying the same liability as if they held the mandate personally.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
Can you manage my investments or take in my money?
No. We hold participations on our own account with our own capital. Managing assets for others, giving investment advice, placing financial instruments or taking in funds from the public all require authorisation from the FSMA, which we do not hold and do not claim. If that is what you are looking for, you need an authorised firm, and we would rather say so immediately than have the conversation continue.
Is this an invitation to invest alongside you?
No. Nothing on this site is an offer of securities, a financial promotion or an invitation to invest, and it should not be read as one. We are describing what the company does because it has a public register entry and a name that invites assumptions. There is no fund, no external mandate and no pooled capital.
Why do you make a point about management fees?
Because fees charged between related companies have to correspond to real services at a defensible price, and Belgian tax authorities regularly disallow those that do not. When that happens the adjustment falls on the company that paid as well as the one that invoiced, so a round quarterly figure with nothing behind it is a shared problem rather than a tidy arrangement. We document what was done, by whom, and how the fee was set.
What is a permanent representative?
Where a company holds a directorship in another company, the Code of Companies and Associations requires it to designate a permanent representative: a natural person who incurs the same civil and criminal liability as if they exercised the mandate in their own name. It exists so that a human being is accountable for a board seat rather than only a legal entity. We designate one for any mandate we accept.
Do you handle the accounts and tax for the companies you hold?
No. Keeping books, preparing annual accounts and giving tax advice are reserved in Belgium to professionals registered with the ITAA, statutory audit to registered auditors, and legal advice to the Bar. We provide management and governance support and we refer those matters out. A holding offering to do all of it in-house would be crossing lines that exist for a reason.
What return can a participation be expected to produce?
None that we would state. Returns, distributions and valuations depend on how the companies concerned actually perform and on market conditions nobody controls. Anyone describing a holding's historic figures as an indication of what is achievable is making a claim rather than a statement of fact.
Got a business or a corporate matter to discuss?
An enquiry costs nothing, and we will say quickly if it is outside what we do.