History
From trading house to wealth manager
From past to present
Van Lanschot Kempen’s history dates back to 1737, when Cornelis van Lanschot founded the Van Lanschot trading company in the Dutch town of ’s-Hertogenbosch, making it the country’s oldest independent financial institution. In 2007, Van Lanschot acquired merchant bankers Kempen & Co and in 2017 the company's name was changed to Van Lanschot Kempen. Through the years, Van Lanschot Kempen has grown from a family-owned business into a listed wealth manager that still puts family values and personal attention centre stage.
Read more about our history.
1737
On 22 July 1737, Cornelis van Lanschot entered his first purchases of coffee, tea and spices in an order book, marking the start of Van Lanschot’s history as a trading company.
1799
'Lanschotje'
Following the proclamation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, the monetary system had to be reformed. As there was a shortage of coins from 1816 onwards, people sought a temporary solution by bringing coins into circulation themselves, outside the government. A grocer in the town of Utrecht, Bleijenstein, was the first to issue such coins, as did Franciscus van Lanschot. For generations, these coins were popularly referred to as Lanschotjes (little Lanschots).
1881
The collection business and securities trading forming the backbone of the company’s activities. There was also some lending on a modest scale to trade and industry in the Dutch province of Brabant, of which 's-Hertogenbosch is the capital.
Image: first securities note
1903
Kempen & Co was established in 1903 by Rotterdam resident Arines Kempen and his younger partner Martinus de Lange, the “& Co” in the name. In fact, Kempen retired from the company as early as August 1914, while De Lange stayed on and was succeeded by his son, who would run the company until 1967.
1929
In the decades that followed, Van Lanschot developed from a local and regionally-oriented family business into a mid-sized bank, not least by the acquisition of Amsterdam-based bank Vermeer & Co in 1959.
Image: advertisements from 1937 and 1944 respectively
1978
TV ads
In the 1960s and 1970s, Van Lanschot first started running ads on TV, created by Toonder Studios.
1990
Nine generations
1991
1999
2004
2007
2013
Evi
The second key moment in 2013 was the launch of Evi van Lanschot, an online savings and investment platform. Evi allowed Van Lanschot to make its wealth management and advisory expertise available to the mass affluent.
2016
2017
2021
2022
From 2022, the separate brand names Van Lanschot and Kempen were gradually phased out and activities continued under the Van Lanschot Kempen name. Alongside Mercier Van Lanschot, Evi van Lanschot continued to operate under its own name as an online investment platform.
2023
Today
Since its establishment in 1737, Van Lanschot Kempen has grown from a trading company into an independent, specialist wealth manager; from a family-based firm in the Dutch town of 's-Hertogenbosch into a listed company with offices in six countries. A lot has changed over the past three centuries, but family is still very much part of the fabric that makes Van Lanschot Kempen, as is clear from our close ties with our clients, often across generations. And from our shared values, of course: personal, specialised, entrepreneurial and decisive.