Esmark's company history - Quality since 1965

Esmarch Feriehusudlejning was founded in 1965 by Mathilda Esmarch in Bjerregård with just a few holiday homes. The number of holiday homes grew steadily and in 2007, when Janni and Anders Thygesen from Hvide Sande took over the rental business, there were already 450 holiday homes.

Esmarch became Esmark

Our change of name from Esmarch to Esmark in 2016 was not only a name change, but also a strategic move to clear up misunderstandings about the origin and pronunciation of our company name. Many Danes had assumed that Esmarch was a German holiday home rental company, while at the same time German guests had difficulties with the pronunciation. Changing the name to Esmark, with a 'k' at the end, simplifies both the pronunciation and our Danish identity and local roots.

We now have over 5288 Holiday homes in Denmark in the programme and welcome you to 9 beautiful service offices in Søndervig, Hvide Sande, Bjerregård, Henne Strand, Houstrup, Vejers Strand and Blåvand, on the island of Fanö and the island of Römö.

In 2025, Esmark will celebrate its 60th anniversary as a family business. A lot has changed in 60 years, but the philosophy has remained the same since 1965: the best holiday homes, the best service, reasonable prices!

1965

Esmarch Holiday Home Rentals was founded in 1965 by Mathilda and Werner Esmarch, and for many years the rental business was run from the hallway of their private home, at the same address in Bjerregaard as it is today. In the beginning there were very few holiday homes, but gradually there were enough for the family.

Mathilde was responsible for the administration, Werner for the practical work and their two daughters Lissi & Ella also helped with checking and cleaning the houses.

1990

The company continued to grow slowly, and in 1989 daughter Ella started working full time in the office. Her husband Leif Rauhe always helped out in the service department when he wasn't working as a fisherman in Hvide Sande. In 1990 Ella and Leif took over the management of the company. At that time, around 150 holiday homes were being rented out.

The holiday homes were mainly located in Bjerregaard, but gradually more and more enquiries came from owners in the north. As the number of houses increased and the houses became more geographically dispersed, it became necessary to employ more staff in the office and to service the houses. The premises in the older private house became too small and in 2003 a new, large and beautiful yard with a thatched roof was completed.

2007

Many successful years of letting meant that in 2007 there were around 450 holiday homes on offer. Responsibility for Esmarch Holiday Home Rentals has now passed to the third generation of entrepreneurs: Janni & Anders Thygesen. Janni and Anders were both born and raised in Hvide Sande. Janni has a background in accounting and Anders has experience in the tourism industry.

By 2009, the number of houses in the northern part of Holmsland Klit was already so large that a service office was opened on Lodbergsvej in Sondervig.

2014

The small service office ensured greater visibility and therefore more holiday homes. With around 1354 holiday homes to let, the office in Bjerregaard eventually became too small. This, together with the desire to offer the same good service to guests and owners north of Hvide Sande, led to the realisation of a dream in 2014: a new large domicile was built in Søndervig.

2015

At the turn of 2015, two strong local holiday home rental companies became one when Esmark and Elite Sommerhusudlejning merged and Elite owner Thomas Sørensen joined the company as co-owner. The merger also meant around 200 new houses in Søndervig and the surrounding area and four new employees overnight.

At the end of 2015, Esmark could look back on a successful merger of the two companies and another good year of letting.

2016

The same name - now with a k! Many Danes used to think that Esmarch was a German holiday home rental - but a survey in Germany revealed that German holiday guests had problems pronouncing the name.
So the spelling was changed to Esmark with a k, so that it is now pronounced as it should be. At the same time, the 'Danish' spelling also made it clearer that Esmark is a Danish, local holiday home rental company.

2017

Esmark took over the privately owned holiday home rental company Schultz Feriehuse in early 2017, with headquarters in Houstrup and service offices in both Henne Strand and Vejers and Blåvand.
The two local rental companies, which have both been in existence since the 1960s, have achieved the status of Denmark's fourth largest holiday home rental company with more than 2,000 quality holiday homes along the Danish North Sea coast from Vedersø Klit in the north to Blåvand in the south.

2018

Following the takeover of "Schultz Feriehuse" in 2017, it was also time to set up local Esmark offices in the new holiday areas in Varde municipality. The first of these was opened in Blåvand in 2018 and was built in the classic Esmark style with a thatched roof and clinker bricks.
At that time, a total of 2,257 holiday homes were on offer in the entire area from Blåvand in the south to Vedersø Klit in the north, of which 136 homes were available in the Blåvand and Ho area.

Esmark Feriehusudlejning kontor Houstrup

2019

Esmark will open two more local offices in 2019. One in Vejers Strand and one in Houstrup. This means that Esmark now has a total of five local offices with the classic, characteristic appearance of clinker brick construction and thatched roofs. By building the new local offices, Esmark was bucking the trend towards increasing digitalisation. Esmark's theory then - and still is today - was that a local presence helps to provide guests with the best conditions for a successful holiday. That is why it is important to us that we are present in all areas where we offer holiday homes for rent.

2019

2019 was also the year that Esmark opened its new head office and administration centre in Hvide Sande. The head office, which houses the administration and most of the marketing and photo department, moved into the former town hall in Hvide Sande, which had been renovated to give it a new and modern look.
In addition to Esmark's administration, the local tourism organisation VisitVesterhavet and a number of smaller local businesses have also moved into Hvide Sande's old town hall.

2021

The holiday home provider "Westerland.dk", which offered 250 holiday homes in and around Søndervig, became part of Esmark on 1 February 2021. Esmark thus grew once again and was able to expand its range to over 3,300 holiday homes in the area from Blåvand in the south to Vedersø Klit in the north.

2021

In 2021, we were also able to inaugurate the fantastic newly built Esmark office in Henne Strand.
The office was the 6th office in the characteristic architectural style with modern equipment and many service facilities for our guests and homeowners.

2022

At the beginning of 2022, our Esmark colleague Nikolaj Gramstrup and his family set course for the island of Fanø to open the new Esmark office on 3 January 2022.
We also fell in love with Fanø very quickly; with the friendly locals, the beautiful nature and the island's wonderful location in the middle of the Danish Wadden Sea.

2022

In the spring of 2022, Esmark's 8th office was opened on Rømø. Office manager Jimmi Nielsen, who was born in Tønder (Denmark), has known Rømø since childhood and has worked in the holiday home industry on Rømø for many years.
Rømø has everything our guests could wish for; one of the widest sandy beaches in Europe, generous nature and space to relax and unwind.

2022

In the autumn of 2022, Esmark will also open the doors to another newly built office in the harbour town of Hvide Sande, between the holiday resorts of Bjerregård and Søndervig. The office, located in the heart of the town, is Esmark's ninth local service office and also the head office, where the management, accounting and most of the marketing and photo departments are located.

“Our love for Esmark is old. 45 years old…”

My father booked a summer house in Bjerregaard for the first time in 1970. My family has been there every summer since then, with the exception of 2008-2010. The original landlady, Mrs Mathilda Esmarch, once said: "Yes, yes, the Göke family... They are part of the inventory of the house!”

Andrea Moberg, née Göke
Written on 26 May 2014

The philosophy has remained the same since 1965:
Good holiday homes - Good service - Reasonable prices!

Esmark Feriehusudlejning

Esmark rents out around 5288 holiday homes on the west coast of Jutland.
Head office in Hvide Sande, with local service offices in Søndervig, Bjerregård, Henne Strand, Houstrup, Vejers Strand, Blåvand and on the islands of Fanø and Rømø.
The company has about 150 permanent employees and is managed by Michael Gade.
The company is owned by Janni and Anders Thygesen.
The company was founded in 1965 by Mathilda and Verner Esmarch in Bjerregård.