Sophus Berendsen

Sophus Berendsen (16 October 1829 – 18 June 1884) was a Danish founder of Sophus Berendsen A/S (now Berendsen plc).

Early life and education Berendsen was born on 16 October 1829 in Copenhagen, the son of Isak Nathan Berendsen (1782–1852) and Rachel Meyer (1788–1851). He received a thorough commercial education and then worked as a clerk in a trading firm.

Career In 1854, Berendsen established his own firm which traded in iron, steel and glass, initially as a commodity broker but later as an import business. The firm prospered from the building boom that followed in the many new districts that emerged when Copenhagen's fortifications were decommissioned a few years later. Berendsen lived to see it develop into the largest company of its kind in the country.