Hi Sofia, tell us a bit about Hammarviken and what you are doing right now?
Hammarviken is a group of companies with experience of investing mainly in small and medium-sized companies with growth opportunities and real estate. We have broad expertise in what is required to further develop businesses, where a large part of our work consists of assisting the subsidiaries with various types of management resources, financial and legal expertise as well as strategic and communication work. The company's mix of experienced employees and young and innovative colleagues makes us an interesting partner for most companies. We like it when companies face different types of challenges such as generational changes, profitability and growth problems or companies that simply want a partner to discuss operational and strategic issues with.
Right now, we are increasing our focus on real estate investments where I am currently spending a lot of time. Here we are looking at developing properties, either on our own or together with other players, mainly in residential and community buildings. I also spend a lot of time looking at additional investments for our existing subsidiaries.

In recent years, you have focused on giving younger people the chance in leading positions, what are your experiences from that?
The investment in younger people adds a lot. However, I would say that it is precisely the mix between younger and older people that provides the great exchange. Younger people give us influences and trend spotting that we would not have received in the same way otherwise, while older people contribute wisdom and experience. This exchange of experience gives us a wonderful tension in the discussions and it becomes a fun and creative environment to work in. Yuncture is our subsidiary that supports young entrepreneurs pro bono who can sit with us and take advantage of our skills free of charge. In exchange, we get close to new innovative thoughts and ideas. Our subsidiaries appreciate having close access to this type of business intelligence and even in potential investment discussions, we notice that we are perceived as an attractive investor with a fresh and modern approach thanks to Yuncture, among others.
What challenges do you see in investing in new companies in the uncertain world situation that prevails now?
There are many worries right now with high inflation, high material prices, rising interest rates and the Ukraine war. This affects most industries, not least the construction and real estate sector, which we are big in. It will probably be a little tougher for some time to come and we should see falling valuations. Although we are observant as several companies are in construction, we feel financially secure and have a strong cash position to be able to do good business in the future. Even in troubled times, opportunities emerge.