From safe investment – to a significant member of society
STENA FASTIGHETER 40 YEARS
The year was 1981. This was when Stena Fastigheter was founded. The company has grown over the past four decades, from being a property management company to a sustainable urban developer that invests in both people and neighborhoods. In 2021, the company will invest just over SEK 3 billion, contributing with a thousand new homes and hundreds of summer jobs for young people each year.
“Our operations started in 1981 with properties in Gothenburg and Malmö in Sweden and only a handful of employees,” says Cecilia Fasth, CEO at Stena Fastigheter. “Today we have over 350 employees and own and manage 385 properties both in Sweden’s metropolitan regions and abroad. We are a family business that has grown, but we are still guided by the same strong entrepreneurial spirit, and we put our hearts into what we do.”
ADMINISTRATION – RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT – SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
In 1981, when Stena Fastigheter began operations, Dan Sten Olsson was 34 years old and the deputy CEO of Stena AB.
“The shipping business that we ran, and run, is cyclically sensitive, and we started a property management company to give us a more stable leg to stand on,” says Dan Sten Olsson, CEO, Stena AB. “My wife Jane grew up in a house that is 350 years old, and that made me realize that if you take care of a house properly, it can last almost any length of time. Property is thus one of the best assets you can have. I later also understood that it is not enough to just keep up with repairs, our tenants also need to feel safe and happy with where they live. That’s why our relationship management program was created.”
In the beginning, Stena Fastigheter mainly owned properties in downtown neighborhoods, but during the early 1990s a unique decision was made. In 1994, Stena Fastigheter decided to invest in housing in the Million Programme neighborhood Lindängen in Malmö. The acquisition came to fundamentally affect Stena Fastigheter’s way of working, and social responsibility became a part of Stena Fastigheter’s business concept.
“We put considerable effort into collaboration with the local community and dialogue with our tenants, which quickly contributed to a better environment for residents in Lindängen,” says Cecilia Fredholm Vaarning, Communication and Sustainability Manager at Stena Fastigheter. “This is where our relationship management started, a way of working that today permeates the entire company. Dialogue, local presence and long-term ownership are some of the components in our relationship management that contribute our tenants feeling safe and happy with where they live.”
Stena Fastigheter now owns 26,000 rental apartments in and around Sweden’s larger cities, with many of these in Million Programme neighborhoods like Fisksätra in Nacka, Västra Bellevuegården in Malmö and Tynnered in Gothenburg. The company invests in social activities, upgrades of the existing stock and builds everything from schools and nursing homes to new condos and rental apartments, to further elevate neighborhoods.
“We come from having been investors in buildings, to constructing buildings, and we are now a participant in urban planning,” says Dan Sten Olsson. “We are becoming an increasingly important part of society. And that really feels good.”
Cecilia Fredholm Vaarning, Communication and Sustainability Manager, Stena Fastigheter. Cecilia Fasth, CEO, Stena Fastigheter. Dan Sten Olsson, CEO, Stena AB.
THE FUTURE AND STENA FASTIGHETER
A lot has undeniably happened in the past 40 years. But what does the future hold for Stena Fastigheter?
“We are still a strong player in sustainable urban development, where collaboration is the key,” says Cecilia Fasth, CEO of Stena Fastigheter. “Our biggest challenge in the industry is in building climate-neutral, but here we are taking giant strides and doing it together with partners and entrepreneurs. In the next few years, we will invest approximately SEK 3 billion annually in our neighborhoods through new housing, offices and community properties, and a significant part of the investments will be in the refurbishment and development of existing areas. Part of that is the SEK 15 million a year that we invest in collaboration with the local communities through our relationship management.”
Signs of the 40th anniversary celebrations can be seen in the neighborhoods.
HOW WILL STENA FASTIGHETER BE MARKING ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY?
“The pandemic continues to affect our society and our tenants,” says Cecilia Fredholm Vaarning. “This is why, just as in 2020, we have invested in extra summer activities that are adapted to current restrictions. We’re celebrating in this way together with our tenants in the neighborhoods. In addition, we increased the pace and contributed with 539 summer jobs this year. Which is more than ever before. Most summer workers are at our own sites, but we also collaborate with other companies so that our tenants can work with them as well. This is our way of contributing, and our way of celebrating.”
