Several of Stena Adactum’s holdings benefited from the prevailing house and home trend, with increased demand for goods such as kitchens, bathrooms and garden products. Kitchen brand group Ballingslöv International and bathroom company Svedbergs continued to see increasing sales in 2022.

During the year, Ballingslöv International established the Kvik brand in Germany, where so far two stores have opened and a number of other stores are planned.

“The German market is large and we believe that Kvik has good opportunities to grow there,” comments Anders Wassberg.

In the spring of 2022, Stena Adactum acquired the Norwegian Plantehallen and thereby became established in the Norwegian horticultural market. The ambition is to build up a network of stores in several cities in Norway in the coming years, based on the current store in Oslo. Two of the founders of Plantehallen, both of whom have extensive experience in the industry, will continue to manage the business. According to Anders Wassberg, one of Stena Adactum’s key strengths is the strong shared values that permeate the entire company, with clear delegation of responsibility.

“This is a good illustration of our strategy. When we invest, we do so with responsibility and respect for the expertise found in the company. We’re an active partner to our companies, with the aim of developing and strengthening our business. We’re convinced that this creates the flexibility needed to build strong, growing and profitable companies,” he comments.

“This also provides an opportunity for synergies with Blomsterlandet’s operations in such areas as procurement – even though we will allow the companies to develop in the best way possible, in the conditions existing in each market. We are currently planning for around 40 stores in Norway. Svedbergs Group, which offers a comprehensive bathroom range, also noted a sharp increase in sales. During the year, Stena Adactum increased its holding in Svedbergs to just over 40 per cent. Svedbergs increased its sales from SEK 450 million in 2016 to SEK 1.8 billion in 2022.

Midsona carried out a new share issue in late 2022, to strengthen its financial position. As the main owner, we accepted our ownership responsibility and guaranteed the new share issue, whereby which we increased our ownership share from 29 per cent to 48 per cent.

In the summer of 2022, the energy company SR Energy, of which Stena Adactum is co-owner, opened the two largest wind farms in southern Sweden. SR Energy, formerly called Stena Renewable, was founded in 2005 by Stena Adactum. The ownership share is currently 20 per cent and there are plans for further investments in the business, as there is great potential in renewable energy. As the largest wind power company in southern Sweden, SR Energy will contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions in the region of 1.26 million tonnes, which is equivalent to 2.7 per cent of total emissions there.

The B2B category within Stena Adactum includes Envac, which is a world leader in automated waste management. During the year, Envac’s operations were divided into two segments, one of which focuses entirely on healthcare, with everything from cleaning services to handling infected waste, while the other focuses on other types of waste management. A significant part of the healthcare business is conducted in China and the USA, with the US market considered to be particularly interesting from a growth perspective.

The second acquisition in 2022 concerned the media production company Stockholm Digital Media Centre (DMC). DMC is a media production company that offers comprehensive solutions, from monitoring live broadcasts to post-processing, primarily in the sports segment.

“Sports media production is an exciting future area, with rapid technical development and great potential, and we can now offer a solution that is both cost-effective and reliable,” says Anders Wassberg.

Through centralised remote sports production, media companies reduce cost, travel and equipment transport, thereby reducing their climate footprint.

Stena Adactum’s growth target is to increase the value of the portfolio by around 15 per cent annually.

“The positive development during the year, combined with the fact that we are constantly evaluating potential new acquisitions, makes me convinced that we must continue to live up to our growth target,” comments MD Anders Wassberg.

The challenges ahead in the coming year include the uncertain economic situation, as well as continued delivery problems and difficulties in obtaining both materials and components, which will lead to major cost increases for several companies within the Group.

According to Anders Wassberg, the Group’s focus on sustainability is an important future success factor. With a long-term strategy for its holdings, and as a responsible owner, Stena Adactum helps to develop strong and profitable companies which integrate sustainability into their business. It is important that the companies take a long-term approach and are transparent in their communication. Several of the companies play an important role as employers by offering jobs in rural areas and contributing to local communities.

“We see this as a prerequisite for long-term value creation. By acting sustainably, our portfolio companies can offer their customers competitive and sustainable products and services, which creates good long-term profitability. The portfolio companies are transparent in their sustainability work and focus on continued development that contributes to both resource efficiency and reduced emissions,” he says.

Stena Adactum supports and influences the portfolio companies in their sustainability work by sharing knowledge, and by raising and setting requirements for the companies through their Board work. The wholly-owned portfolio companies have ambitious sustainability targets, KPIs and follow-up in place within the framework of Stena’s four focus areas, adapted to the sector in which the company operates.

In the wholly-owned companies, Stena Adactum has a greater influence on sustainability issues in terms of strategies and reporting. In the partly-owned companies and listed portfolio companies, Stena Adactum exerts influence through its active ownership, but the operational responsibility and decisions regarding sustainability strategies, their implementation and reporting rest with the boards and managements of the respective companies.