Legal owners (legale ejere)
Legal owners (legale ejere) are the direct owners of a company holding at least 5% of the share capital or voting rights. Legal owners can be both natural persons and other companies, and stakes are registered in intervals (5-10%, 10-15%, etc.).
The figures behind the term
Source: companydata.dk, CVR and annual reports, updated 27 October 2026
Ownership stakes are registered in the Danish Public Ownership Register in intervals, not exact percentages. Changes must be registered when an owner crosses an interval boundary. Owners below 5% do not appear in the register.
From legal to beneficial owners
Because legal owners can be companies, finding the people behind often takes several lookups: you follow the chain of legal owners upward until you reach natural persons. It is precisely this chain that determines who the beneficial owners are and what the group structure looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Who must be registered as a legal owner?
Anyone owning at least 5 % of the capital or the votes, whether the owner is a person or a company.
What is the difference between legal and beneficial owners?
Legal owners are the direct owners as they appear in the register of shareholders. Beneficial owners are the natural persons who ultimately own or control the company.
How many owners does a typical Danish company have?
Most have just one. The figures on this page show how many active companies have registered legal owners and how many of those have exactly one.
Related terms
Beneficial owners (reelle ejere)
Beneficial owners (reelle ejere) are the natural persons who ultimately own or control a company, as a starting point, persons with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, directly or indirectly through other companies.
Holding company (holdingselskab)
A holding company (holdingselskab) is a company (typically an ApS or A/S) whose primary purpose is to own shares in other companies rather than run its own operations. The structure is used to separate risk and defer tax.
Share capital (selskabskapital)
Share capital (selskabskapital) is the capital the owners have subscribed and contributed to a limited company. The minimum is DKK 20,000 for an ApS and DKK 400,000 for an A/S. The capital is public in CVR and can later be increased or reduced.