The recent arrivals: SGS from Geneva and Vontobel from Zurich

Metro and the German connection

The German retail group Metro, founded by Otto Beisheim, established its international holding company in Baar in 1974 and concentrated European functions there in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The operation reached a peak of about 330 employees around 2000 and has since been reduced to some 30.¹ Metro represents the first generation of German groups that used Zug as a base outside the European Economic Community. Its decline in the canton reflects the changes in the group's strategy and in the international tax environment. Beisheim himself lived in the canton for many years.²

The recent arrivals: SGS from Geneva and Vontobel from Zurich

Two recent decisions show that the attraction of Zug for corporate headquarters is undiminished. Both concern the two cities with which this book is most closely connected.

In March 2025, the shareholders of SGS, the world's largest inspection, testing and certification company, approved the transfer of its headquarters from Geneva to Zug with 88.9 per cent of the votes. Headquartered in Geneva since 1915, SGS thereby ended 110 years in the city.³ The company, with revenue of 6.8 billion francs in 2024 and about 100,000 employees worldwide, justified the move by the excessive size and cost of its Geneva building, the business environment of the Zug and Zurich region and the better access to international talent and to Zurich airport. After the transfer took effect on 1 November 2025, the new headquarters in Baar, with about 150 employees, was inaugurated on 29 January 2026.⁴

The reaction in Geneva was bitter. The director of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce observed that SGS had been the last listed multinational company in the canton. Observers described the debate at the general meeting as very emotional. Critics pointed out that the chief executive lived in Zug and other executives in the region.⁵ In Zug, too, the move met with reservations: a local shareholder warned that it would aggravate the shortage of housing in a canton whose rental vacancy rate, at 0.39 per cent, was the lowest in Switzerland. The finance director, Heinz Tännler, emphasised that the canton had presented facts and advantages without actively recruiting the company.⁶

On 31 August 2026, the Zurich private bank Vontobel announced that it would move its headquarters to a new campus in the Lindenpark in Baar, scheduled to open in 2030. More than 1,500 employees, currently working in seven buildings in Zurich, will move to the campus of about 15,000 square metres. Along with them, the holding company will also move its seat to Baar. Vontobel will retain its building on the Bleicherweg in Zurich as a client centre with more than 300 client-facing staff.⁷ The Swiss Bankers Association headed its commentary on the move "Kein Alarmsignal, aber ein Weckruf" ("no alarm signal, but a wake-up call") for Zurich, and observed that the financial centre of Zurich extends in practice across the cantons of Zurich, Zug and Schwyz, with Baar some thirty minutes from the city.⁸

The two decisions complement each other. SGS moved from Geneva, a city whose international vocation is the subject of the companion volume, to Zug. Vontobel moves from Zurich, the financial centre with which Zug has always been intertwined, to Baar. In both cases, the canton offered lower taxes, but the companies emphasised other factors as well: space, accessibility, the availability of development land and the proximity to the talent and infrastructure of the Zurich region. In both cases, the move raised concerns in the canton itself about the pressure on housing. The recent arrivals thus confirm the pattern that has held since the 1950s while illustrating the limits that the canton's success is beginning to reach.

Notes

1. Zug in der Welt, "Zug mit Steuern steuern": Metro International AG arrived in 1974 and placed its holding in Baar; Zug in der Welt, "Prägende internationale Grosshandelsfirmen": Metro International AG concentrated in Baar in the late 1980s and early 1990s; about 330 employees at the peak around 2000; about 30 in 2024; European hub under founder Otto Beisheim. ↩
2. Wikipedia (German), "Otto Beisheim": Beisheim lived in Baar and took Swiss citizenship in 1988, with further homes in Rottach-Egern and Miami. ↩
3. Moneycab, "Nach 110 Jahren: SGS zieht von Genf nach Zug", moneycab.com: SGS headquartered in Geneva since 1915; on 26 March 2025 the shareholders approved the relocation with 88.9 per cent at the general meeting in Geneva; the CEO Géraldine Picaud cited significant cost improvements from relocating to the tax-favourable canton of Zug; no job cuts in Switzerland; Vincent Subilia, director of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, opposed the move, noting that SGS was the last listed multinational company in the canton of Geneva. ↩
4. swissinfo.ch, "SGS eröffnet neuen Hauptsitz in Baar ZG im Januar 2026": opening on 29 January 2026; about 150 employees at the headquarters; about 100,000 employees worldwide; revenue of 6.8 billion francs in 2024; move approved with effect from 1 November 2025; Geneva facility too large and too costly; better proximity to Zurich airport; zentralplus, "SGS zieht von Genf nach Zug – und sorgt für Kritik": the Geneva headquarters of 12,000 square metres largely empty; the CEO cited the business-friendly environment and better access to international talent. ↩
5. zentralplus, "SGS zieht von Genf nach Zug – und sorgt für Kritik": Vincent Subilia stated "Nobody understands the decision"; critics noted that the CEO resides in Zug and other executives in Freienbach and Urdorf. ↩
6. zentralplus, "SGS zieht von Genf nach Zug – und sorgt für Kritik": a local shareholder warned the move could worsen housing shortages, with a vacancy rate of 0.39 per cent, the tightest rental market in Switzerland; Finance Director Heinz Tännler emphasised that the canton presented facts and advantages without active recruitment. ↩
7. Vontobel, "Vontobel develops new campus in Baar (Zug)", press release of 31 August 2026, vontobel.com: new campus scheduled to open in 2030; more than 1,500 employees from seven Zurich buildings to relocate; Lindenpark in Baar; about 15,000 m² of office space; Bleicherweg office refurbished as client hub for more than 300 client-facing employees; offices in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and eleven other locations unchanged; Swiss Bankers Association, "Vontobel zieht nach Baar: Kein Alarmsignal, aber ein Weckruf", swissbanking.ch: relocation of the holding company headquarters to Baar; available development reserves, accessibility, an entrepreneurial environment and an approved development plan cited as key factors. ↩
8. Swiss Bankers Association, "Vontobel zieht nach Baar": the Zurich financial centre described as an interconnected region encompassing Zurich, Zug and Schwyz; Baar roughly 30 minutes away by car or train; the relocation described as a wake-up call on permitting, development land and tax conditions. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.