Despite a more challenging lettings market, our revenue increased and we reported improved income from property management compared with the year-earlier period

We completed the quarter’s largest transaction together with Nasdaq, who are leasing a total of 8,300 square metres at Klara Zenit in Stockholm. Nasdaq is an excellent example of the trend we’re noting in the market, namely that location has always been important, but today it is a central factor. People also want high-quality premises in a larger context, ideally in city centre locations. This is favourable to a company such as Vasakronan

Our underlying operations continue to deliver stable figures and our income from property management grew 8%. Demand for high-quality premises in prime locations remains strong. This favours a company such as Vasakronan and was confirmed by the key metrics for the past year, in which we have once again reported strong trends both for rental revenue and for the operating surplus.

Despite a turbulent market, we continue to increase our cash flow and posted a positive performance in income from property management. This was due to increased rental revenue in combination with relatively stable net interest. Moreover, we have a correctly positioned property portfolio. There is considerable demand for environmentally certified properties with top-notch premises located close to public transport links and demand is highest in our city centre locations.

We reported strong income from property management for the first half of the year. Activity has increased in the lettings market but demand for high-quality products in our locations remains strong. My understanding is that we have never before seen such a large difference in willingness to pay when it comes the difference in quality not only of premises but also locations. The macroeconomic signals are difficult to interpret, but it is clear that we are heading towards more uncertainty in the market. Nonetheless, I remain confident, given the high quality of our properties and their prime locations as well as our strong financial position.

We reported increased income from property management for the first quarter of the year. There is a great deal of activity in the market but demand for high-quality products in our locations remains strong. The greatest pressure remains on the best premises in Central Stockholm. The macroeconomic signals are difficult to interpret, but it is clear that we are heading towards more uncertainty in the market. Nonetheless, I remain confident. We have excellent properties in prime locations and strong financial metrics. Moody’s also confirmed this and we have retained our high rating of A3, stable outlook.

We are reporting stable results for the underlying operations. The uncertain market conditions have resulted in a decline in property values during the second half of the year. At the same time, we have managed to maintain a high letting rate and to bring several large projects into property management during the year, which has positively impacted cash flow. This, combined with the fact that we have properties in in-demand locations, strong finances and dedicated employees, means that we are well-positioned even in a more challenging market.

The GRESB outcome is fantastic proof of the quality of our work. We have worked systematically with sustainability topics for a long time and our employees are incredibly committed to the issue. This drives development and means that we are always raising our ambitions. Digitalisation has facilitated following up on and reporting quality-assured sustainability data at property level across the entire portfolio. We can also see that our efforts to achieve an even higher level of circularity and reduced climate impact in our projects contributed to our top ranking in project development.

There is a rising interest in social issues such as safety, security and the working environment as well as conditions in the supplier chain, issues easily overlooked in the built environment sector. There is substantial work to be done here, so it is gratifying to see that these issues are also being pushed.

We posted a strong performance for the first six months. Operationally, we focus strongly on what we are actually able to affect – our projects and our offering. Active management and close dialogues with our customers enable us to continue to increase earnings. We are maintaining a high rate for new lettings and our net lettings for the first half of the year were SEK 187 million. Demand is clearly greatest for the best products in the most central parts of Stockholm.