# Who owns an agency?

**Short answer.** Shareholders are not in the annual accounts, but directors and every change to them appear in the Belgian Official Gazette, free of charge. A holding above it tells you the rest.

In Belgium the shareholders of a private limited company are not in a public register. The directors are, and in practice that gets you almost everywhere you want to go.

## Where to look

**The Belgian Official Gazette.** Every appointment, every resignation of a director and every change to the articles is published there, with a date. Search the company name and read from old to new: you see at a glance who arrived, who left and when something structural changed.

**The Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.** Gives the legal form, the incorporation date and the current officeholders.

**The annual accounts.** The full schedule lists participations: which companies this agency owns, and sometimes who owns it.

**IKAg's factsheets.** They show per agency which group it belongs to, with an [overview by group](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/groepen). That is the level above the agency: the holding or the international network.

## What to watch for above all

**Recent director changes.** Three changes in two years is a signal, however good the work. Ask about it; the answer is usually harmless and occasionally important.

**A holding that is not Belgian.** Decisions are then taken elsewhere, and you notice that faster in a bad year than in a good one.

**A founder who has left the board.** At small agencies the founder is often the reason the agency is what it is. Their departure is not a detail.

## What you can simply ask

"Who are the shareholders, and has anything changed in the past two years?" is a normal question from a client considering a three-year contract. An agency that gets uncomfortable has a reason, and you want to know that reason.

See also: [which group an agency belongs to](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/bij-welke-groep-hoort-een-bureau), [network or independent agency](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/netwerkbureau-of-onafhankelijk) and [does this agency still exist](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/bestaat-dit-bureau-nog).

## Related questions

- [Which group does an agency belong to?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/bij-welke-groep-hoort-een-bureau): More important than it sounds: two agencies competing in your pitch can hang off the same holding. It is the axis most often skipped in a selection.
- [Network agency or independent agency: what is the difference?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/netwerkbureau-of-onafhankelijk): A network agency hangs off an international holding and brings scale, process and international coverage; an independent decides for itself and has its owners in the building. Look at who signs, not at what is on the door.
- [What can I find out about an agency before I make contact?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wat-staat-er-op-een-factsheet): More than you think, and most of it is public: founding year, address, services, reference clients, awards, group structure and the filed annual accounts. IKAg puts that per agency on a factsheet.

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IKAg is the business consultant for marketing and agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Market figures come from the Agency Barometer, calculated on the annual accounts agencies filed with the National Bank themselves. Figures on pitches and satisfaction come from IKAg-guided processes, and are always presented as such.

- All questions: https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq
- Last updated: 2026-08-19