Grup Serhs

Grup Serhs (SERHS) is a Catalan business group founded in 1975 in Calella as a services cooperative named Serveis Mancomunats d'Hosteleria i Similars. It was created by 17 small hospitality entrepreneurs, promoted by industrialists Ramon Bagó, Josep Janer and Cristóbal Villegas, with initial capital of 850,000 pesetas, in response to a sharp decline in English and German visitors to the Maresme coast after the 1973 oil crisis. Over the decades it diversified into hotels, restaurants, bars, hospitals, schools, leisure and sports centres and geriatric facilities, and evolved from a cooperative into a group of limited and public limited companies now known as Grup SERHS. Today Grup SERHS is described as Catalonia's leading tourism group, comprising around 40 companies and structured into four business divisions: SERHS Distribució (distribution of beverages, food, cleaning products, fresh and frozen goods, coffee, fruit and vegetables to hotels, restaurants and communities); SERHS Tourism & Hotels (tourism intermediation, hotel management and hotel consultancy); SERHS Food (integral catering in healthcare, education, universities, sports centres, theme parks and prisons); and SERHS Serveis (projects and equipment, insurance, administration and finance, new technologies and IT applications). It employs an average of about 2,500 workers and has around 1,400 partners, 40% of whom are employees or relatives of employees. Its activity is mainly in Catalonia, but it is present across the peninsular Mediterranean arc, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and Brazil. In 2004 it invoiced 352 million euros and began expanding into Europe and Morocco; by 2015, its 40th anniversary, it approached 500 million euros in turnover. In 2016 it opened a high-performance kitchen in Mataró with a production capacity of 2.5 million kg, adapted to produce more than 400 references. The group has received honours including the Placa d'Honor del Turisme de Catalunya (2001), the Placa al Mèrit Turístic in gold (2003) and the Premi Príncep Felip a l'Excel·lència Empresarial (2005).

Grup Serhs was founded in 1975 in Calella as a services cooperative under the name Serveis Mancomunats d'Hosteleria i Similars (SERHS). It was the initiative of 17 small hospitality entrepreneurs, promoted by industrialists Ramon Bagó, Josep Janer and Cristóbal Villegas, with initial capital of 850,000 pesetas. The trigger was the sharp fall in English and German visitors to the Maresme coast in the early 1970s, caused by the 1973 oil crisis and the 1970 Football World Cup. Over the years the company grew and progressively diversified into hotels, restaurants, bars, hospitals, schools, leisure, sports and geriatric centres. Its legal personality evolved, complementing the original cooperative with limited and public limited subsidiaries, becoming today's Grup SERHS. Expansion continued and by 1999 the group invoiced more than 30,000 million pesetas. In 2000, with the absorption of Distribucions Gili de Reus, it expanded in food distribution. That same year, in alliance with Tropikal Tours, it obtained representation of 450 operators, gaining presence in the Balearics, Costa del Sol, Canaries and Andorra and securing bookings for hundreds of thousands of tourists. In 2001 it strengthened its tourism presence by buying 60% of the Tívoli tourism group, significantly increasing turnover. Also in 2000 it began buying farmhouses in inland Catalonia (Sant Hilari Sacalm, Cardona, Arnes) for rural tourism under the 'Vilars Rurals' brand, and with Grup Soler equipped them with biomass-based energy management and saving systems. In 2004 the company invoiced 352 million euros and began expanding into Europe and Morocco. It continued to grow, and by 2011 it had 2,863 employees and 1,500 partners, mostly employees. In 2012 the Oficina Antifrau de Catalunya opened a judicial case known as the Cas Bagó, investigating a possible fraudulent relationship with the Consell Comarcal del Maresme and Badalona Serveis Assistencials; the case was archived for lack of evidence. In summer 2016 it became public that the case had allegedly been part of a plot from the anti-fraud office itself and the Spanish Interior Minister, in what is known as the Cas Fernández Díaz. In 2015 the company announced its intention to enter the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets as a medium-term strategy. That same year the group celebrated 40 years since its founding, reaching close to 500 million euros in turnover. In autumn 2015 the group began a process of reunifying its constituent companies. In October it announced it would unify all ten companies operating under the SERHS Distribució umbrella into a single company to gain volume and efficiency, according to Igor Onandía, general director of Serhs Distribució. Two months later, in December, it also merged its hotel and tourism division, led by Josep Maria Bagudà, forming a new business division, SERHS Tourism & Hotels. In 2016 the group opened a high-performance kitchen in Mataró with a production capacity of 2.5 million kg, adapted to produce more than 400 references. Today SERHS is structured into four business divisions: SERHS Distribució, SERHS Tourism & Hotels, SERHS Food and SERHS Serveis. It is considered Catalonia's leading tourism group, comprising around 40 companies, with an average of 2,500 workers and 1,400 partners, 40% of whom are employees or relatives of employees. Its activity is mainly in Catalonia, but it is present across the peninsular Mediterranean arc, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and Brazil. The group has received awards including the Placa d'Honor del Turisme de Catalunya (2001), the Placa al Mèrit Turístic in gold (2003) and the Premi Príncep Felip a l'Excel·lència Empresarial (2005).

• 2026

  Opened SERHS Beach Hotel in Ponta Negra, Natal, Brazil; celebrated 50th anniversary with 'La Nit SERHS del Mig Segle'; SERHS Distribució obtained ISO/IEC 27001 certification.

• 2016

  Opened high-performance kitchen in Mataró with 2.5 million kg capacity and 400+ references.

• 2015

  Announced intention to enter Chinese and Southeast Asian markets; celebrated 40th anniversary with close to 500 million euros turnover; began reunification of companies, merging SERHS Distribució and forming SERHS Tourism & Hotels.

• 2012

  Oficina Antifrau de Catalunya opened the Cas Bagó; case later archived for lack of evidence.

• 2011

  Had 2,863 employees and 1,500 partners.

• 2005

  Received Premi Príncep Felip a l'Excel·lència Empresarial and Premi Pimes 2005.

• 2004

  Invoiced 352 million euros; began expansion into Europe and Morocco.

• 2003

  Awarded Placa al Mèrit Turístic in gold.

• 2001

  Bought 60% of the Tívoli tourism group; received Placa d'Honor del Turisme de Catalunya.

• 2000

  Absorbed Distribucions Gili de Reus, expanding food distribution; allied with Tropikal Tours; began buying farmhouses for rural tourism under 'Vilars Rurals'.

• 1999

  Invoiced more than 30,000 million pesetas.

• 1975

  Founded in Calella as a services cooperative named Serveis Mancomunats d'Hosteleria i Similars (SERHS) by 17 hospitality entrepreneurs.

Catalonia's leading tourism and hospitality group, offering integrated distribution, hotel, catering and services solutions.

• SERHS Distribució

  Distribution of beverages, food, cleaning products, fresh and frozen goods, coffee, fruit and vegetables for hotels, restaurants and communities.

• SERHS Tourism & Hotels

  Tourism intermediation, hotel management and hotel consultancy services.

• SERHS Food

  Integral catering in healthcare, education, universities, sports centres, theme parks and prisons.

• SERHS Serveis

  Projects and equipment, insurance, administration and finance, new technologies and IT applications.

• Cas Bagó

Read more

1. 1SERHS official websiteserhs.com
2. 2Grup Serhs - Wikipedia (Catalan)ca.wikipedia.org
3. 3Grup Serhs - Wikidatawikidata.org