HPM Die Handwerksgruppe

What HPM Die Handwerksgruppe does

HPM Die Handwerksgruppe is a Hamburg-based, family-owned holding group for independent German and Austrian craft businesses, founded in 1989 by master painter Philip Mecklenburg. The group operates as a shared-services platform rather than a traditional operator: it acquires independent artisan firms facing generational succession (Generationswechsel) or supports new-founded businesses, retaining each operating company's local brand, identity, and entrepreneurial autonomy while centralizing administrative functions through its 16-department Service & Verwaltung entity in Hamburg. As of the latest disclosures, the portfolio comprises 166 operating companies (Betriebe) employing 4,715 people across two countries, organized into three trade divisions—Maler Fassade Ausbau (painting/facade/finishing, 109 firms, €415M output), Technische Gebäudeausrüstung (electrical/HVAC/sanitation, 46 firms, €292M output), and Fenster & Fassade (windows/facade, 11 firms, €80M output)—for a combined total performance of approximately €787 million.

The group's go-to-market is relationship-driven succession rather than sales: prospective owner-operators approach HPM through referrals from existing firm managers, Handwerkskammer (chamber of trades) engagements, or a dedicated succession contact channel. Revenue accrues from optional centralized services—legal, HR, payroll, marketing, IT, and collective purchasing—and from economic participation in the operating companies. HPM does not disclose pricing for these services, retaining B2B flexibility per member business. Group economics are characterized by a 40% equity ratio, 8% return on sales, and 100% family ownership, supporting a long-term, counter-cyclical acquisition cadence targeting ~7% annual growth split roughly equally between M&A and organic expansion.

End customers are reached indirectly through the 166 member firms and span residential construction, commercial/industrial real estate, healthcare (e.g., Krankenhaus Harlaching), food & beverage (Arla, Hassia/Bionade), pharmaceuticals (Boehringer Ingelheim), government (ÖBB, Hamburger Stadtreinigung, Deutsche Bahn), and education (Schule Rönneburg, Grundschule Gaarden). Digital infrastructure consists of the HeyPM employee app (launched 2024) and the forthcoming HPM Digital Campus learning platform (scheduled summer 2026). AI is being explored at the leadership level but is not yet deployed in products.

Name

HPM Die Handwerksgruppe

Legal name

HPM Service und Verwaltung GmbH

Website

https://handwerksgruppe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

HPM Die Handwerksgruppe is a family-owned Hamburg-based holding group that acquires or founds independent German and Austrian craft businesses facing generational succession, providing centralized shared services across 166 operating companies in painting, technical building equipment, and window/facade trades.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management & Shared Services Fees: HPM generates revenue by providing centralized administrative, legal, HR, marketing, and purchasing services to its portfolio of ~166 independent artisan operating companies. Each operating company remains a standalone GmbH (limited company), paying for optional services from HPM's Service & Verwaltung entity. The group also benefits from collective purchasing power and shares in the economic performance of its operating companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

HPM Die Handwerksgruppe is a family-owned holding company that provides a long-term entrepreneurial home for independent craft businesses in Germany and Austria, primarily through succession support (Generationswechsel) and new-founding. Across three trade divisions — painting/facade/finishing (MFA), technical building equipment (TGA) and windows/facades (FuF) — it bundles 166 operating companies and back-office shared services (legal, HR, marketing, accounting, purchasing) under one umbrella while letting each member retain its own brand and local autonomy.

Product overview

HPM Die Handwerksgruppe is a family-owned company group providing a shared services platform for independent craft businesses in Germany and Austria. Rather than a single software product, HPM operates a three-division structure comprising Maler Fassade Ausbau (painting/facade/finishing with 109 businesses), Technische Gebäudeausrüstung (technical building equipment/TGA with 46 businesses), and Fenster und Fassade (windows/facade with 11 businesses). The Service & Verwaltung division in Hamburg centralizes administrative services including legal, marketing, payroll, and purchasing for member businesses. New businesses join through acquisition (generationswechsel/partnership) or new foundations, retaining their own brands and identities while benefiting from group services. Digital offerings include the HeyPM employee app (internal communication) and the upcoming Digital Campus for training. Total group output is approximately €787 million across 166 businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Service & Verwaltung (Shared Services Platform) Centralised shared-services platform offered by HPM Service und Verwaltung GmbH in Hamburg (Cremon 3) to all 166 member operating companies. Provides 16 departments covering construction law, marketing, payroll accounting, purchasing synergies and consulting; each member opts in to the specific services it needs.
• Maler Fassade Ausbau (MFA) Division Services Division comprising 109 MFA businesses across 52 cities with over 2,500 employees delivering painting, facade work, concrete repair, vertical garden/greening, and interior finishing services for residential, commercial and public-sector clients; combined total output €415 million.
• Technische Gebäudeausrüstung (TGA) Division Services Division with 46 TGA businesses across 24 cities and over 1,600 employees providing electrical installation, lighting/network technology, building systems technology, solar systems, communication technology, heating, air-conditioning, sanitation and plumbing; combined total output €292 million.
• Fenster und Fassade (FuF) Division Services Division with 11 businesses across 7 cities and over 400 employees specialising in window construction, facade systems, metal construction, green facades and aluminium post-and-beam facades; combined total output €80 million.
• HeyPM Employee App Employee-facing internal communication application launched in 2024 that connects all HPM colleagues on construction sites and in offices across the 166 operating companies, enabling internal news, messaging and shared resources.
• HPM Digital Campus Digital learning platform scheduled to launch in summer 2026 that consolidates training content for apprentices, tradespeople and executives across all HPM businesses, providing practical, digitally accessible learning paths.
• HPM Successione und Neugründung (Generationswechsel / New-Founding Onboarding) Structured succession and new-founding programme through which HPM acquires independent craft businesses whose owners lack a family successor, or supports new founders, while preserving each firm's brand, identity and entrepreneurial autonomy within the HPM group.

Quantifiable outcome

• 787 Mio EUR combined total performance across all divisions (415 Mio MFA + 292 Mio TGA + 80 Mio FuF)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HPM Service und Verwaltung GmbHcoreOthersThe group's own service entity, located at Cremon 3 Hamburg, provides centralized administrative services (legal, HR, payroll, purchasing, marketing) to all 166 operating companies. Organized into 16 departments.
• Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) / Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz (HinSchG)minorOthersCompliance with German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG). The group has established complaint mechanisms and publishes procedural rules and statements of principle for human rights and environmental due diligence.
• Handwerkskammer Hamburg (HWK Hamburg)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHPM actively collaborates with the Hamburg Chamber of Trades on workforce development initiatives, including the 'Future Talk' event at Hamburg Dom where HPM member businesses met potential apprentices in a ferris wheel speed-dating format.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Würth Group: World's largest family-owned German trade and craft services company, supplying fasteners, tools, and chemicals to trades businesses globally with over 400,000 customers. Comparable family-owned German craft-sector platform at vastly larger scale, supplying rather than consolidating craft businesses.
• Travis Perkins plc: UK-listed builders' merchant and construction services group serving trade customers across painting, plumbing, electrical, and general construction. Comparable platform model serving the same craft trades as HPM, though public and UK-focused rather than German family-owned.
• Heitkamp & Thumann Group: Family-owned German industrial holding company with operating subsidiaries in metal forming, automotive components, and packaging. Comparable family-controlled multi-company platform structure, though focused on industrial manufacturing rather than craft trades.
• GC-Gruppe (Großhandelsgesellschaft für Bau- und Installationsartikel): German building services distribution group serving heating, sanitary, electrical, and HVAC trades. Comparable ecosystem position serving the same craft trades as HPM's TGA division, though operating as a wholesaler rather than a holding of craft businesses.
• Max Bögl Stiftung & Co. KG: Large family-owned German construction and technology company covering building construction, civil engineering, wind energy, and modular construction. Comparable family-controlled German construction platform with adjacent renewable-energy activities (like HPM's Weiss Windpower Service).
• Hagedorn Unternehmensgruppe: German construction services group specializing in demolition, remediation, and civil engineering with multiple operating entities. Comparable as a German multi-company construction holding but focused on heavy civil/demolition rather than finishing trades.

Direct peers

• Zech Group SE: Family-owned German construction and real estate group with multiple operating companies in building construction, environmental technology, and real estate development. Comparable diversified platform structure and family-control governance.
• Leonhard Weiss GmbH & Co. KG: Family-owned German construction and infrastructure holding with multiple operating divisions covering road construction, civil engineering, and turnkey building construction. Highly comparable to HPM as a family-controlled platform aggregating technical services and construction trades across Germany.
• GOLDBECK GmbH: Family-owned German construction services company specializing in commercial building turnkey construction and real estate services. Comparable to HPM in scale (multi-billion revenue), family ownership structure, and German Mittelstand platform operating model.
• WOLFF & MÜLLER Holding GmbH & Co. KG: Family-run German construction holding covering building construction, civil engineering, and road construction. Similar family ownership, multi-divisional structure, and German Mittelstand platform model as HPM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/handwerksgruppe
• Instagraminstagram.com/hpm_handwerksgruppe

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HPM Die Handwerksgruppe