Pressure continues to mount on Swedish property group Oscar Properties Holding AB after its portfolio value was slashed by 14%, a figure unheard of in the country’s unfolding real estate crisis.
The Stockholm-based company announced the adjustment as part of its third-quarter report, in which it posted a net loss of 1.45 billion Swedish kronor ($130 million). Shares slumped 17% in early trading on Friday, meaning the group has lost three-quarters of its market value fo far this year.
Adding to the woes for Oscar Properties is a severe funding crunch that is afflicting many borrowers in the sector. Earlier this week, two of the company’s creditors demanded immediate repayment of loans totaling 2.1 billion kronor due to a missed interest payment.
The company is in a “challenging situation, with high leverage and an illiquid transaction market, which has made it difficult to sell properties at reasonable prices,” Chief Executive Officer Carl Janglin said in the report.
Vacancies in the company’s property portfolio — comprising warehouses, offices, industrial buildings and homes — are “high in certain segments” due to the weak market and insufficient liquidity that’s weighed on the ability to adapt properties to tenants’ needs, the CEO said.
“The situation requires a rapid and comprehensive restructuring,” Janglin said, adding that discussions with the creditors are continuing.
