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56 - FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE ACTIVITIES Companies in Netherlands

Approximately 248,495 real businesses classified under 56 - Food and beverage service activities in Netherlands, with officer, shareholder and beneficial ownership records sourced directly from official government registries.

SBI 2008 56
Sector Overview — Netherlands

Approximately 248,495 real businesses classified under 56 - Food and beverage service activities operate in Netherlands. Covers companies officially classified under SBI 2008 code 56 (Food and beverage service activities), part of Netherlands' SBI 2008 classification of economic activities. This division is one of the sub-sectors making up the broader Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector. Ownership, beneficial-ownership disclosure and company-registration rules for businesses under this specific activity code follow the same general framework that applies across Accommodation and Food Service Activities in Netherlands.

Beneficial-ownership and registration rules for Accommodation and Food Service Activities companies in Netherlands follow the same national framework as every other sector there.

Full Netherlands beneficial ownership overview

Data Coverage

Record counts for SIC Code I in Netherlands, as of the last reconciliation.

279,245
Total Companies
96,038
Currently Active
34%

Section I is 4% of the Netherlands register by entity count and its 11th largest sector — see all sectors.

Analysis

What this data actually tells you

Accommodation and Food Service in the Netherlands runs on a two-licence system distinct from company registration. Operating a public establishment — a restaurant, hotel, cafΓ©, snack bar or similar — requires an exploitatievergunning (operating licence) issued by the mayor, generally valid for an indefinite period once granted. A separate Alcoholwet licence (the successor to the former drank- en horecavergunning) is needed specifically to serve alcoholic drinks, meaning a venue can be validly operating under an exploitatievergunning while still lacking authorisation to serve alcohol.

Each municipality sets its own additional conditions for horeca establishments through its General Local Ordinance (Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening, APV), covering public order and safety requirements on top of the two core licences, and decisions on new licence applications are due within 8 weeks of a complete application, extendable once. For verification, a Dutch accommodation or food-service venue’s actual authority to operate and to serve alcohol depends on checking both licences separately, against the specific municipality’s own local rules.

Netherlands Accommodation and Food Service Activities, by the register

Charts render from live counts. Modules are suppressed where coverage is too thin to be meaningful.

Entities by sub-sector

55 Accommodation
33,217
56 Food and beverage service activities
248,495

SIC division level, live from official registries.

Active vs. inactive

34% active

Section I entities currently on the register as active, vs. struck off or dormant.

Company size, by disclosed headcount

0
80,406
1-9
182,703
10-49
14,849
50+
1,011

By number of employees on file, Section I, Netherlands. 276 entities with no disclosed headcount are not counted in any band.

Who uses Netherlands accommodation and food service activities ownership data

The three checks this sector's data is most often run for.

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Exploitatievergunning verification

Operating a public establishment in the Netherlands — restaurant, hotel, cafΓ©, snack bar — requires an exploitatievergunning (operating licence) from the mayor, generally valid indefinitely once granted, separate from the Alcoholwet licence needed to actually serve alcohol.

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Alcoholwet vs. exploitatievergunning distinction

The Alcoholwet licence (successor to the former drank- en horecavergunning) authorises alcohol service specifically, while the exploitatievergunning covers general operation — a venue can hold one without the other, so confirming both is necessary.

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Municipal variation and processing time

Each Dutch municipality sets its own conditions for horeca establishments through its General Local Ordinance (APV), and decisions on new applications are due within 8 weeks (extendable once) — a real, checkable timeline and a reminder that requirements vary locally.

Sub-sectors within Accommodation and Food Service Activities

SIC divisions inside this section, each with its own Netherlands company directory.

Need the full Netherlands UBO picture?

Get complete shareholder and officer records, ultimate beneficial owner resolution, and ongoing ownership monitoring for Netherlands companies — via API or a bulk data feed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many companies are classified under 56 - Food and beverage service activities in Netherlands?

Approximately 248,495 businesses are classified under 56 - Food and beverage service activities in Netherlands.

What does SBI 2008 code 56 cover?

56 - Food and beverage service activities is the official name for this activity under Netherlands' SBI 2008 classification of economic activities. It is a sub-category within the broader Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector.

How is this different from the broader Accommodation and Food Service Activities category?

Accommodation and Food Service Activities is the top-level sector; SBI 2008 code 56 identifies one specific activity within it, letting you narrow a search to exactly this business type rather than the whole sector.

What ownership information is available for these companies?

The same beneficial-ownership, shareholder and officer disclosure framework applies as for any other company in Netherlands, regardless of its specific activity classification. See the individual company profile for the full ownership picture, or the Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector overview for the general national framework.

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