About us

Stronghold Invest, founded in 1994, is an active holding company that owns, invests and develops real estate companies in Northern Europe. Stronghold provides competence, contacts and capital.

The Group has steadily improved its position and developed into one of Europe’s leading real estate advisors. Stronghold currently has revenues of more than 160 MEUR and more than 1 200 employees.

Stronghold is owned by its founder Urban Edenström, the Board of Directors and key executives from the Group.

To dowload Stronghold Invest´s latest annual report, please click here.

Entrepreneurial organization

Stronghold was built by entrepreneurs and has continued to be an entrepreneurial organization. Working at Stronghold you should strive to be innovative and creative at all times. We believe it is better to do something not quite right than to do nothing at all. That’s why we work hard to decentralize decision making – which enables our employees to act rapidly and execute on new business opportunities.

Stronghold’s business demands agile and distinctive business-mindedness.

The entrepreneurial spirit and decentralized decision making are promoted in all our companies. Through Stronghold University we offer programs which allow our employees to develop in line with the business needs and we always strive to have attractive and competitive incentive plans. This assures that the Group will remain at the forefront of the real estate sector over time.

Our ambition

Our ambition for the years to come remains the same – strong and profitable growth through entrepreneurship. Stronghold see growth as a natural state of developing our businesses. Our strategy combines an accelerated organic growth, supported by acquisitions within strategic areas and starting new businesses in collaboration with our experienced professionals at Stronghold.

Our core values passion for colleagues and clients – in that order – are vital to our growth strategy. We see our employees as our greatest assets, which is why we proactively invest to provide a challenging and rewarding environment to grow from.

To support our companies in meeting the challenges and exploiting the opportunities from the digital transformation, currently taking place in the global real estate industry, Stronghold has established a new business area, Proptech, with the objective to ensure that the Stronghold Group is at the forefront of digital technology.

Stronghold is a result of a unique history of growth, characterized by constant originality of thinking. The Group was founded Urban Edenström in 1994. Since then, numerous companies have been started, within a wide spread of business areas and geographical markets and today key investments include Newsec, Datscha, NIAM, ESNY, Tessin and Workaround.

Use the arrows to see the Stronghold Story.

The Group is founded by Urban Edenström and Investor AB, as a property and asset-management consultancy company.

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Newsec starts developing an information system for the real estate market, Datscha

Newsec acquires the market-leading real estate comapny in Gothenburg – Westpartner.

1994 - 1997

Niam is founded as an operating partner to GE Capital Real Estate, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Newsec enters strategic partnerships in Denmark with Sadolin & Ahlbæk and in Norway with DNB Næringsmegling.

Niam sets up Sweden’s first property fund, Niam Fund I, holding properties valued at EUR 70 million.

1998 - 2000

Newsec expands into Finland. First release of the comprehensive market analysis Newsec Property Outlook. Niam sets up Fund II. Newsec enters a strategic partnership in the Baltics.

Niam raises Niam Fund III, which has an investment capacity of approximately EUR 1.8 billion and is the number one real estate fund in Northern Europe.

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The Group changes its name to Stronghold as part of a clearer strategy towards a more pure investment company. Stronghold acquires the Finnish real-estate and asset-management company Tallberg Toimitilajohto Oy (now Newsec Oy).

2001 - 2005

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Stronghold acquires the Norwegian full-service company Eiendoms-Consult AS (now Newsec AS).

Niam raises Niam Fund IV, the largest opportunistic fund in Europe targeting the Nordics and Baltics.

stronghold_2016_logo_newsec

Stronghold acquires part of the Baltic property consultant Re&Solution, today a subsidiary to Newsec Baltics.

2007 - 2009

Stronghold co-founds the exclusive real estate broker Eklund Stockholm New York (ESNY).

Niam raises Niam Fund V, the largest Nordic opportunistic property fund.

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Niam Fund V closes on EUR 719 million. Newsec acquires majority of the Norwegian technical asset management company TM Partner AS (now Newsec TM AS). Newsec starts the subsidiaries Newsec Competence and Newsec Technical Services.

2010 - 2012

Newsec acquires Jones Lang LaSalle’s property management business in Sweden and starts the subsidiary Newsec Communication. Niam closes Niam Core-Plus fund, reaching EUR 300 million in total equity commitments.

         

Datscha launches in UK as the first country outside the Nordics. Niam closes on 800 MEUR for Niam Fund VI.

Stronghold launches a new business area – Proptech – and invests in Tessin, a real estate crowd funding platform and Workaround, – a platform for the sharing of flexible office space.

2013 - 2015

Stronghold Proptech busienss area invest in Mestro – an web-based energy management analytics tool

Mestro till hemsida Stronghold

Stronghold aquires the market leding property management company in Norway, Basale (from OBOS), and becomes a subsidiary of Newsec Asset Managment.

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2015 - present

Our story

Our Team

Board of Directors

  • Anders Lönnqvist (Chairman)
  • Born in 1958. Board Member since 1999
  • Current position: Chairman of Servisen Group
  • Work experience: Investment Manager and owner of Servisen with previous experience in several development and investment companies
  • Other Board assignments: Board Member of Opus, Board Member of Elite Hotels and other companies
  • Shares in Stronghold: 92 356 (indirect)
  • Urban Edenström
  • Born in 1953. Board Member since 1994
  • Current position: Founder and CEO of Stronghold
  • Work experience: Founder of FastighetsRenting in 1984, Newsec in 1994, Datscha in 1997 and Niam in 1998.
  • Other board assignments: Chairman of Niam Funds and many group subsidiaries, Dept Chairman Stockholm Chamber of commerce
  • Shares in Stronghold: 500 001 (indirect)
  • Mikael Lövgren
  • Born in 1961. Board Member since 1999
  • Current Position: Executive Chairman of Bridgepoint Capital Nordic
  • Work experience: Mikael Lövgren is a 20 year veteran of The Boston Consulting Group where he was Managing Partner for the Nordic region.
  • Other board assignments: Board member at Karolinska University Hospital, Nordic Cinema Group (NCG), Solhagagruppen and biotech business Ellen AB
  • Shares in Stronghold: 29 803
  • Risto Silander
  • Born in 1957. Board member since 2006
  • Current Position: Investor & Professional board member
  • Work experience: Former positions include CEO Alfred Berg Group, Managing Director UBS Warburg Stockholm, Executive Director Goldman Sachs London and Head of Capital Markets Handelsbanken.
  • Other board assignments: Varenne AB, The Trygg Foundation, E. Öhman Jr AB, Brevan Howard Funds, DW Funds, Endeavour Pembroke Funds, Niam AB, Gamla Livförsäkringsaktiebolaget SEB Trygg Liv AB and Magnolia Bostad AB.
  • Previous board assignments: Tornet AB, Telelogic AB, Netonnet AB, Swedish Export Credit (SEK) AB and East Capital Asset Management AB
  • Shares in Stronghold: 25 000
  • Anders Böös
  • Born in 1964. Board member since 2012
  • Current Position: Investor & Professional board member
  • Work experience: CEO of Drott AB and HQ AB.
  • Other board assignments: Board member of Investment AB Latour and Securitas AB.
  • Previous board assignments include Chairman of Cision AB, board member of Haldex AB, Niscayah AB, CLS Holdings Ltd, Frigoscandia Distribution AB, Fabege AB, Bostads AB Drott and others.
  • Shares in Stronghold: 26 500
  • Johan Edenström
  • Born in 1982. Board member since 2011
  • Current Position: CEO of Pejoni AB
  • Work Experience: Stronghold Invest; Newsec AB; and Head of Nordic Sales, Newsec Asset Management
  • Other Board Assignments: Pejoni AB and other companies.
  • Håkan Johansson
  • Born in 1969. Board member since 2017
  • Current Position: Executive Board Member
  • Work experience: Partner Bridgepoint, Board member & Member of Operating Committee Bridgepoint, London
  • Other Board assignments: Board member of NIAM AB, Newsec AB and Datea A/S
  • Shares in Stronghold: 29 700

What we believe in

‘Passion for Colleagues and Clients’ is the basis for our philosophy and attitude to one another and our clients. Passion presumes commitment, which in turn demands the desire and the ability to listen to the client and each other; to be interested in, and have respect for, colleagues’ and clients’ needs and issues; to take initiatives; to preserve and to deliver what we promise.

We choose not to work with everyone. Our values determine our way of working, cooperating and investing. No matter whether you are a colleague or client, our core values – ‘Excellence’, ‘Innovation’ and ‘Integrity’ – need to be recognized.

Excellence is the desire and the ability to deliver solutions and services of the highest quality – exceeding both the client’s highest expectations and the best capabilities of our competitors.

Innovation is the desire and the ability to seek, identify, and implement new solutions; to lead the development of new services and products – to have the courage to break with tradition.

Integrity is the ability to ensure that every client’s confidentiality is respected and that every task is undertaken with the client’s best interests in mind – at all times with the highest business ethics and morals.

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If we can create a culture where all our employees are satisfied, and where they know that their contribution is appreciated, then client focus will follow naturally. This is why we put great emphasis on employee development. Stronghold University – our approach to learning and building competence – lets us continuously analyze, define, build and evaluate the skills necessary to develop our employees.

Business Principles

The success of the Stronghold Group does not solely depend on the quality of the work we carry out for our clients. It is at least as important that we build and maintain an acknowledged reputation regarding business morals and correct ethical conduct.

This naturally applies to contacts both inside and outside the Group. It allows for more trust and confidence, and means that we can work in an open and non-bureaucratic atmosphere.

To guide and inspire, our Business Principles helps us navigate and to ensure that we have a common view on business moral and ethics.

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Social value

Many companies take pride in contributing to the creation of social values, over and above their regular business. For companies in the Stronghold Group it comes naturally to be an active community builder in the cities we operate in and to contribute to those cities’ attractiveness. Cities are a breeding ground for creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and GDP growth, essentials for a thriving economy.

Our mission stems from many years of witnessing the close relationship between a city’s prosperity and property returns. A study carried out by Newsec in 2014 concluded that as much as 70 percent of the total property return can be explained by the GDP growth.

“We Love Cities” represents our view on success factors for developing attractive cities and how Stronghold Group contributes to these factors.

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