Our story
Groupe Rhéaume is a family holding company. We build and invest in operating businesses, and we develop real estate with our own capital.
We build to keep.
A business you intend to keep is run differently from one you are preparing to resell, and the difference shows up in just about every decision.
We look for businesses and projects that can become a great deal larger than they are today. Growing a company takes years, and that is the horizon we work on.
The capital we invest is our own. Nobody sets a deadline for us.
Real estate follows the same logic. We buy land and buildings and develop them ourselves, from rezoning through to leasing, and we hold them long enough for the work to pay.
History
You cannot read where a family is going without knowing where it came from. Nearly fifty years of continuous operation, from insurance to real estate to operating businesses.
- Position taken
Michel Rhéaume & Associés ltée
The firm is incorporated. It is the origin of the family holdings. Michel Rhéaume Sr. builds Groupe Excellence with André Beaulne over the decades that follow.
The L’Excellence head office. The signage also carries the firm’s name, Michel Rhéaume & Associés ltée. - Position taken
730 Notre-Dame, Repentigny
The land is acquired, in the eastern Greater Montréal area. Zoned for a single house, it would be rezoned for 186 units, then designed, built and leased by the family. Nineteen years held.
- Exited
Sale of Groupe Excellence
The insurer is sold to Industrial Alliance, after three decades built by the previous generation. The litigation surrounding the sale was resolved in the family’s favour at the Supreme Court of Canada (2023 SCC 25).
- ~170 employees
- $81M in annual premiums
The second generation takes over
Michel Rhéaume succeeds his father at the head of the group and directs its redeployment into real estate and operating businesses.
- Position taken
Construction begins at 730 Notre-Dame
Construction starts, thirteen years after the land was acquired and three after the change of generation. The rezoning, the financing, the dealings with the City and the day-to-day running of the site are all handled in-house.
- Position taken
Belle-Vue-sur-le-Fleuve, Repentigny
The land is acquired, in Repentigny, and the rezoning process begins. A mixed-use project: two ground-floor shops beneath three residential floors, 39 apartments planned. Construction has not begun.
- Position taken
Groupe C’est Vert and Groupe Vivarium
Two positions in recurring-revenue service businesses, alongside young operators.
- Position taken
GuyWay, the first market outside Canada
After nearly fifty years in Canada, the family moves beyond the country. GuyWay launches ride-hailing in all-electric vehicles in Georgetown, Guyana. It is the beginning of the group’s international activity.
- Exited
Sale of 730 Notre-Dame
Nineteen years after the land was acquired, the position is realized.