Jerónimo Martins holding to move to Amsterdam

The holding company of Portuguese food distributor and retailer Jerónimo Martins, which holds the supermarket chain Pingo Doce in Portugal, is to move from Lisbon to Amsterdam.

The Sociedade Francisco Manuel dos Santos has made the move because the country offers a more flexible and efficient legal regime in the Netherlands than it currently has in Portugal reports the online news source ECO.

Consisting of members of the various branches of the Santos family, including the Soares dos Santos family, its sole asset is its share (99.99%) in the Dutch company SFMS BV, through which it controls (56.136%) the capital of the listed company Jerónimo Martins SGPS, owner of Pingo Doce and Recheio in Portugal.

“The European public limited company registered under Portuguese law, which is based at Largo Monterroio Mascarenhas, in Lisbon, is to move its registered office to Amsterdam. The board of directors wants the process to be completed by the end of 2024, after which it will request its new headquarters in the Netherlands to be registered as soon as possible, and the consequent cancellation of its current registration at the Commercial Registry Office in Portugal”, states the company.

The proposal signed by Maria de Lourdes Soares Alexandre dos Santos and José Manuel da Silveira e Castro Soares dos Santos, dated September 25, will be voted on at a General Meeting scheduled for 11 am on November 29. The sole item on the agenda: “to decide the transfer of the registered office to the Netherlands, with the consequent full amendment of the company’s bylaws and appointment of its corporate bodies, including its management body”.

Quizzed by ECO, the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Company argued that “the move is the natural continuation of the internationalisation and growth” of this holding company and guarantees that “it has no impact on the company’s tax burden and shareholders or the distribution of dividends”. It also emphasises that “there is no implication for Jerónimo Martins SGPS”, being the listed distribution company headquartered in Portugal, whereas SFMS SE is a private company.