In Pullach im Isartal, 43.6% of all corporations are holding companies, more than in any other German municipality with at least 300 companies. Grünwald follows with 28.3% and Gräfelfing with 27.6%, both also in the Munich district. On national average, one in six companies is a holding company, 16.1%. This is shown by an analysis by HDH Group Research of 1,158,810 corporations.
Registered office and management diverge
Grünwald has 119.7 holding companies per thousand inhabitants. In the strongholds, management usually lives elsewhere: for 94.4% of holding companies in Schönefeld near Berlin, nobody in management lives in the district; in Grünwald this applies to 66.1%. Across all holding companies, the figure is 24.5%.
One in five incorporations is a holding company
The share of holding companies in incorporations has risen almost without interruption since 2009, from 12.7% to 21.8% in 2025. Among the federal states, Bremen, Hamburg and Bavaria have the highest shares, Saarland the lowest. In all eastern German territorial states the share is below the national average.
Method
A company counts as a holding company if its corporate purpose names the holding and management of participations. Municipalities with at least 300 companies are compared, as of 23 October 2026. Territorial status and population as of 31 December 2025.
The report
This item is based on the report “Where the holding companies are based” by HDH Group Research. It contains all figures and tables, the definition of the population and a section on method and limitations: Where the holding companies are based, also as PDF.
About HDH Group Research. HDH Group Research examines the structure of German corporations on the basis of its own complete database of more than one million companies. The results may be used freely provided the source is acknowledged.
Press enquiries and analyses to your own definition: info@hdhgroup.de, +43 664 2053061. The editorial team