Residents of the village of Sennels in Thy have raised 2.1 million kroner to buy their local grocery store and keep it open. The money was collected through share sales in a company created for the purpose, Sælnæs Invest ApS.
DR reports that the village of roughly 1,000 residents has now passed its fundraising target by a wide margin. The original goal was 1.5 million kroner. The final total stands at 2.1 million kroner.
The grocer who currently runs the shop is stopping at the end of this year. Sælnæs Invest ApS will take over the store and lease it to a new grocer. Each shareholder had to buy shares worth at least 4,000 kroner.
Hans Votborg, chair of Sælnæs Invest ApS, told DR that the villagers concluded no outside party would come and offer help. He estimates that 300 of the village’s 400 households will end up buying shares.
Still about a million kroner short
The agreed purchase price for the shop is three million kroner, so the villagers still need around one million. According to DR, they are now applying for foundation funding together with the grocery group Dagrofa. If that is not enough, they plan to borrow the remainder from a bank.
Nordjyske reported on August 13, 2026, that the 1.5 million kroner target had been reached, with the final push coming over 14 days. As noted by the paper, the next step was for Dagrofa to begin the search for a new grocer.
An earlier snapshot came from KunMedierne, which reported on August 10, 2026, that pledges had reached 1.38 million kroner after a weekend surge. The same outlet reported on July 1, 2026, that a large local meeting had backed the plan for the village shop.
The fourth million-kroner collection
Per DR, this is the fourth time residents of Sennels have raised a million-plus sum for a local project. The first was Nordthy Hallen, built with 1.1 million kroner in collected funds and opened in 1987. The hall was renovated and expanded last year for ten million kroner, with the board having saved four million itself.
Around 20 years ago, villagers raised over a million kroner to provide the current grocer with a citizens’ loan to establish the shop. Eight years ago they sold shares worth 1,230,000 kroner through another company, Sennels Invest ApS, to build rental housing. That project produced a double house with two 112 square meter rental homes.
Erik Gustavsson, chair of Sennels Borger- og Udviklingsforening, attributes the results to strong local cohesion. He told DR that residents talk to each other and meet across many different settings. Sennels was named “Årets Landsby 2025” by Landdistrikternes Fællesråd, Landsforeningen Landsbyerne i Danmark and Forenet Kredit.
For context on how villages like this compare with urban areas, see our coverage of Copenhagen m² prices doubling while rural Denmark lags behind and the best places to live in Denmark.
