Real estate companies, risks and strategies 2002‐2011

Abstract: The 2008 financial crisis created new conditions for the listed Swedish property companies and the choice of operational and financial strategy became increasingly important. The purpose of this paper is to identify the listed property companies and their strategies for the period 2002 ‐2011, in order to examine whether these has changed in any direction and if they were more or less profitable. To accomplish this, data was collected from the companies' annual reports and statistical institutes. This was followed up with interviews with company representatives and experts to further broadened the analytical basis. Collected data helped to identify each companies strategies year by year. The analysis revealed some trends among companies regarding their operational and financial strategy. By looking at the Operating strategies we have found that the companies have become more specialized towards either a particular property type or to a geographical region. The companies have also increased their focus on cash flow and reduced their focus on transactions. Financially, the companies have reduced their risks by seeking a more long term capital structure. Alternative sources of funding such as bonds have also become more common among the companies. With the exception of the specialization strategy, the most obvious change in strategy occurred in connection with the financial crisis of 2008. It was also found that the companies that were most transaction ‐intensive also have been most volatile in a profit perspective.