The capital structure of listed real estate companies

Abstract: The Swedish economy is currently characterized by a low interest environment, which has contributed to a thriving real estate sector in Sweden. The property companies’ financial costs are extremely low and in the search for yield, many investors have shown an interest in real estate. Due to the high demand on the real estate market there has been an increasing demand for funds. Historically, the balance sheet of Swedish property sector has been comprised of common shares and a large share of bank debt. However, in recent years real estate companies have diversified their capital structure and the use of bonds and preference shares has become increasingly common. This master thesis aims to investigate the development of the capital structure of the listed real estate sector in Sweden and examine the driving forces. Furthermore, the purpose of the study is to identify and analyze what will drive the use of different financing options in the future. Consequently, the effect on the capital structure of the listed sector will be investigated. The study has been conducted primarily based on interviews conducted with key actors active in the real estate sector, the bank sector as well as the institutional and non-institutional investors. The study suggests that the access to financing will be increasingly dependent on the firms’ size and vice versa. Secondly, due to regulations of the banks, the listed real estate sector will have a growing need of financing through the capital markets. However, the thesis has identified a number of obstacles on the Swedish corporate bond market, such as illiquidity. Given the current conditions on the Swedish corporate bond market, the listed sector will be unable to acquire the funds needed to support a growth of the real estate sector. The final finding relates to the capital structure theories and concludes that access to different financing options will be more important than the capital cost. The study shows that there is a clear trend of growing real estate companies. The larger companies are beginning to approach the Swedish major institutional stakeholders in size and reaching a size which makes them more competitive on the international capital markets. Access to funding will therefore increasingly depend on their size and vice versa. In line with previous studies, the listed property sector has a growing need for financing through the capital market due to regulations of the banking sector. Consequently, the distribution between bank and market financing in Sweden will change. Due to the current conditions on the corporate bond market, the  listed sector is unable to access the resources needed to support a strong growth of the property sector. The elementary conclusion of this study is that an access to various financing options will be more important than the capital cost. The result is therefore not support by the already established capital structure theories. To explain the growing need for a diversified capital structure and the importance of access to multiple markets, the results of this study suggests a new capital structure theory. The optimal capital structure is first and foremost a question of optimal access to various funding sources. Thereafter the company should regard the cost of capital and the impact on the rest of the capital structure.