List of the 700 largest municipally owned corporations Germany [2025]

List of the 5 largest municipally owned corporations in Germany

Municipalities are not only administratively active, but also entrepreneurially active – mostly through municipal utilities. These provide services in the areas of infrastructure, supply and disposal, and public transport. Here are the 5 largest German municipal utilities:

1. Stadtwerke München GmbH, Munich

With over 10,000 employees, Stadtwerke München SWM is considered Germany’s largest municipal utility. SWM business areas are: Electricity, natural gas, district heating, district cooling and drinking water supply, public transport, pool operation and telecommunications. One focus is on renewable energies. SWM is wholly owned by the city.

2. Stadtwerke Köln GmbH, Cologne

Stadtwerke Köln GmbH acts as the holding umbrella for Cologne’s municipal operations. This includes majority or 100 percent shareholdings in Gas-, Elektrizitäts- und Wasserwerke Köln AG (GEW: RheinEnergie, NetCologne), Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe, Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Köln an der Häfen and Güterverkehr Köln AG.

3. HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens- und Beteiligungsmanagement mbH, Hamburg

As a holding company, HGV bundles most of the corporate investments of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. These include around two dozen companies with almost 24,000 employees in the fields of public transport, utilities and waste management, transport and logistics, real estate and urban development.

4. enercity AG, Hanover

enercity is a municipal energy supplier and service provider in the capital of Lower Saxony. 75.09 percent of the shares are held by the municipal VVG investment company, 24 percent by Thüga AG. enercity has around 3,000 employees and supplies the Hanover conurbation with electricity, heat, natural gas and drinking water.

5. N-ERGIE Aktiengesellschaft, Nuremberg

N-ERGIE operates as a regional supplier of electricity and natural gas in Nuremberg and northern Bavaria, and also as a municipal supplier of drinking water and district heating. The group, which employs around 2,500 people, is 60.2 percent owned by Städtische Werke Nürnberg GmbH and 39.8 percent by Thüga AG.

Picture source: Unsplash (Pawel Czerwinski), Unsplash (Fionn Große)

Municipal companies: Integral part of German society

In our unique lists, we present the largest municipal enterprises in Germany. Municipal enterprises are companies that are usually subordinate to the respective municipality, but are separate entities for economic reasons. Our directory is made up of large municipal utilities, municipal housing companies and municipal holding companies.

This information will be included in the list

• Company name
• General contact data (address, e-mail address, telephone number, URL)
• Name of the management
• Serial letter suitable for addressing the management (e.g. “Dear Dr. Müller”)
• Sales figures for the years 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 (taken from the annual and consolidated financial statements)
• Employee figures for the years 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018 (taken from the annual and consolidated financial statements)
• Sector classification & Field of activity

Note: Our sales figures and employee numbers are always taken from publications in the Federal Gazette or the company register. If no annual financial statements/consolidated financial statements are published in the Federal Gazette or the company register — or if these financial statements do not contain sales figures and/or employee numbers — our list will also not contain any figures, which we will then indicate in the list with “n.a.”. If you would like to know the exact figures covered in the list, we will be happy to provide you with transparent information before you place your order. Simply send us an email contact [at] researchgermany.com.