Wihlborgs 2023 - Highlights of the Year
Our performance in 2023 indicates that we have succeeded in balancing uncertainties around us with all the positive work we have undertaken, which is yielding results. Despite sharp increases in financing and construction costs, we had positive net lettings in all four quarters of 2023, and ended the year with increased rental income and a record-high operating surplus. In our Swedish operations, the rental value in like-for-like portfolios rose 6.5 percent.
We are also proud that our trust index increased from 86 to 90 percent in the latest employee survey, that our office building Space in Lund was named NollCO2 Project of the Year, that the industrial property Tomaten 1 became the first building in the world with fossil-free steel and that our very own energy innovation, the "Jannelösningen" continues to reduce energy use in property after property. Just like 100 years ago, it is Wihlborg's own employees who drive the business forward.
Read the CEO’s statementIn the final quarter of 2023, we broke our lettings record, with the highest number of newly signed leases, alongside numerous terminations. These intense activities have imposed considerable demands on our organisation, and I am incredibly proud of how we have managed to meet our tenants’ needs time and time again.
Wihlborgs’ choices
To achieve excellence in what we do requires that we focus and prioritise. At Wihlborgs, we have made a number of strategic choices best suited to our business conditions and our profile. We call these, collectively, “Wihlborgs’ choices.”
Our choices
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The Öresund region. Our operations are concentrated in a region that we should know about best of all, in order to fully utilise our potential and contribute positively to the region.
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Workplaces. Offices and warehouses, as well as production, education, healthcare and laboratory facilities, and retail premises, etc.– workplaces are our product with which we serve our tenants, our cities and our region.
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Effective sustainability. We may not have been the first to catalogue and report our sustainability efforts, but we have worked hard on initiatives that truly make a difference.
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Cash flow. A strong cash flow is the best credit insurance. It makes us resilient in troubled times.
Lower priority
- Bonds. Due to the uncertainties of access to bond market funding in less favourable times, we have chosen not to rely on bond funding.
- Ratings. We prefer not to be dependent on external rating institutions. We endeavour instead to conduct business according to what we feel are sound longterm principles, for the benefit of shareholders.
- Alternative forms of financing. Although there are many different ways to raise financing, we see an advantage in being transparent and straightforward.
- Low-yield segments. In order to generate a strong cash flow, our portfolio primarily comprises properties in high-yield segments.
Major events 2023
Quarter 1
During the first quarter, the ground was broken for no less than four properties: Rausgård 21 (for Nederman), Plåtförädlingen 15 (for Springhill, among others), Tomaten 1 (for Inpac) and Bläckhornet 1 (Vista).
In February, we handed over the keys to Trygg-Hansa, which has moved into Kvartetten in Hyllie with 1,200 employees (12,000 m²). Read more about Trygg-Hansa and their co-location of five local offices on page 54.
In 2022, the global non-profit organisation Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) ranked the Wihlborgs’ supplier commitment at the absolute top and the company was named a “Supplier Engagement Leader.”
Quarter 2
The application for a building permit to transform Börshuset was submitted. The renovation is aimed at highlighting the buildings character and history, while transforming it into a more open and dynamic city space.
We signed an agreement with Region Skåne for the construction of a warehouse and logistics facility in the Malmö area. The lease term is 20 years, with occupancy scheduled for 2025.
Machine rental company Renta signed an agreement for a new 1,300 m² building at Grustaget 1, Väla södra, in Helsingborg. The company will be co-locating its two facilities in Helsingborg.
Quarter 3
The first building in Lund’s Science Village, Space (Kunskapen 1), became the first lab-equipped building to be certified under NollCO2. Read more about the NollCO2 certification of Space on page 71.
In Østerbro, we acquired Klædemålet 9, a property that is a small but strategically important piece of the puzzle in our efforts to build an attractive cluster of properties in the area.
Two food wholesalers, Svensk Foodservice and GGB Fruit, signed agreements
for a total of 2,400 m² at Rubinen 1 in Väla södra in Helsingborg.
Quarter 4
Wihlborgs breaks a new record in this year’s Great Place to Work employee survey, achieving a trust index of 90 (86). A full 98 percent of employees think that in all aspects, Wihlborgs is a very good place to work.
Wihlborgs has won the assignment to, in consultation with the Malmö University and the City of Malmö, design and construct buildings at the centrally located Malmö Amphitrite 1 property, which will be leased by the university in the future.
The first tenants of Vista (Bläckhornet 1) are ready: Mercedes-Benz Sverige and Mercedes Finans will rent a total of 2,100 m², and the popular restaurant Laziza, will open its third restaurant in Malmö.
Four reasons to invest in Wihlborgs
Attractive region
Wihlborgs operates in a region with strong population growth, a young and well-educated demographic, a robust innovation structure, high sustainability ambitions, good transport links and shrinking distances to the continent through, for example, the Fehmarn Belt connection. These are the factors that make businesses flourish and attract global corporations to locate their regional headquarters here. Our involvement in everything from urban development to social issues, keeps us in close contact with tenants, local communities and regional players.
Concentrated property portfolio
Wihlborgs’ properties are located in selected sub-markets that provide growth and development potential. We create clusters of properties, industries and networks that enable tenants to relocate, grow and develop within our portfolio. We know the market and the region well and can quickly identify new needs and trends. Wihlborgs is the leading property company in Malmö, Lund and Helsingborg. Our customers include private and public sector players, and represent many different industries.
Long-term and sustainable property owners
Wihlborgs is a long-term owner and develops properties under its own auspices with its own knowledgeable staff, a high level of service and local suppliers. We invest in flexible premises with stringent requirements for quality and sustainability with respect to architecture and building materials, as well as low operating costs. We take the economy, people and the environment into account in all our decisions, and our goal is to halve emissions in the entire value chain by 2030. We strive to make a genuine difference through tangible efforts.
Stable growth and financing
Wihlborgs has had strong growth for many years and raised the dividend for 17 consecutive years. This was made possible by our focus on continuously improving our cash flow. Our strong operating profit relative to our lending creates good financial stability, which allows us to maintain an attractive portfolio of ongoing and planned projects, and to capture new business opportunities as they arise. By conducting good business, we also contribute to the development of the entire region.
Wihlborgs in Malmö
Properties: 102, Rental value: 1,566 SEK m, Property value: 9,145 SEK m, Lettable area: 273,000 m...
Wihlborgs in Malmö
Wihlborgs in Lund
Properties: 34, Rental value: 755 SEK m, Property value: 9,145 SEK m, Lettable area: 273,000 m2
Wihlborgs in Lund
Wihlborgs in Helsingborg
Properties: 106, Rental value: 1,075 SEK m, Property value: 12,490 SEK m, Lettable area: 666,000 m2
Wihlborgs in Helsingborg
Wihlborgs in Copenhagen
Properties: 63, Rental value: 1,012 SEK m, Property value: 12,082 SEK m, Lettable area: 708,000 m2
Wihlborgs in Copenhagen
Read about market and trendsEveryone has different needs – needs that vary from individual to individual, and in the course of a working day. To feel good and perform at our best, we need spaces for collaboration and social interaction, as well as for recuperation and concentration – elements that are easily forgotten when designing workplaces.
Strategy
Our governance
• Integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria across the entire business, with a focus on initiatives that make a real difference.
• Nurture and develop ourown organisation.
• Focus on impressive cost-efficiency throughout operations.
Our market
• Take active steps to strengthen the Öresund region as a financial growth area.
• Strengthen our market position by concentrating on particularly attractive sub-markets that are ripe for development, where we can contribute to sustainable urban development.
• Continuously improve our property portfolio by adopting a long-term perspective on value growth.
Our offer
• Actively cultivate the rental market to acquire new customers and open ourselves to new business models.
• Reinforce our brand so as to become the preferred choice of new customers and foster pride and preference among existing customers and employees.
• Continue to strengthen customer relationships via a high level of service and commitment to developing customers’ businesses.
Sustainable Business
A major part of Wihlborgs overarching goals is to have a business model for sustainable long-term growth. All three components of the ESG area – Environmental, Social and Governance – are to be integrated throughout our business. This entails taking the environment, people and the economy into account in all our decisions.
More about sustainable business
Sustainability targets
Wihlborgs’ sustainability framework has four areas and 16 associated targets. In 2023, Wihlborgs has tightened two of the sustainability targets – the share of sustainability-certified office properties and kg CO2e/m² (Scope 1 and 2) – and formulated two additional targets for 2025 relating to Wihlborgs’ energy consumption and the sustainability assessment of Wihlborgs’ suppliers, respectively.
In-depth sustainability information
In 2023, SEK 1,862 million was invested in redevelopment, extensions and new builds. Approved investments in ongoing projects amounted to SEK 3,675 million on 31 December 2023, of which SEK 1,011 million had been invested at the turn of the year. During the year, ten projects requiring investments of over SEK 20 million were completed. There were 20 ongoing projects requiring investments of more than SEK 20 million at the end of 2023. In total, around 270 projects of varying scope are under way.
The Wihlborgs share
Since January 2016, the Wihlborgs share has been listed in the financial sector of the Large Cap seg...
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