On 1 May 2006, Holland Railconsult has become Movares. A number of reasons lie behind the change. Firstly, the company has gradually developed from a purely railway-oriented business into an engineering consultancy with a wider scope. The railway sector remains central, but it is no longer the only area in which we operate. And secondly, we are increasingly active abroad, where we already operate mainly under the name of Movares. As a result, ‘Holland’ and ‘Rail’ do not always give an accurate picture. The name Movares is associated with movement and mobility, and this corresponds to our new activities.

Majority holding

Since the management buy-out in 2001, two external parties had held 76% of the company shares: NPM Capital and ABN AMRO Participaties. Management and staff held the remaining 24%. On 2 January 2006 we reversed that ratio. Together, directors, management and staff now own 74% of shares, with each group holding a similar percentage. Over 600 of our staff now have a share in ownership of their company. It is pretty well unique for staff to own such a large percentage of a Dutch company this size. A new external partner, Van Lanschot Participaties, holds the remaining 26% of shares. Van Lanschot organized the bank loan and the equity part of the buy-out.

We are very happy about this development. Firstly, it maintains our position as an independent entity on the market, which is very important for a specialized consultancy such as ours. Secondly, the high rate of management and staff participation is not just evidence of enthusiasm and confidence; it is also an incentive to be professional, innovative and enterprising.