A journey through our history

In 2020 Covid-19 put many businesses to the test, including some in Ferd’s portfolio, and Ferd spent a lot of time helping its companies in 2020.

Despite the turbulent and demanding year, the level of investment activity at Ferd was high by historic standards, and the group invested significant sums in 2020 in real estate, individual companies and the financial markets in Norway and internationally. Photo: Sveinung Bråthen

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Ferd Impact Investing made six investments in 2020 in its focus areas of renewable energy, proptech and aquaculture, and its ambition is for a number of these to serve as platforms for further investments over time.

Photo: © Adobe Stock

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In 2020 Ferd Real Estate invested around NOK 8 billion, giving it a strategic position in the market as a leading urban developer.

The development projects it added to its portfolio in 2020 include the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) plot in Oslo, Vitaminveien 1b in Oslo’s Storo neighbourhood, Hieronymus Heyerdahls gate 1, which is right next to Oslo City Hall, and Trekanttomten, which is one of the last undeveloped plots in Oslo’s Aker Brygge area. Photo: Nyebilder

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After 19 years in Lysaker, a little way from the centre of Oslo, Ferd moved in June 2020 to state-of-the-art premises in a recently renovated and environmentally certified building in Vika in central Oslo. Ferd’s new headquarters are convenient, functional and suitable for the group’s continuing expansion, and will serve as a meeting place for the entire Ferd family in the years ahead.

Photo: Dag Knudsen

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The Marienlyst project is Ferd’s biggest investment to date. Ferd Real Estate spent a great deal of time working on the concept, and in February was ready to sign the purchase agreement with NRK.

Ferd Real Estate’s aim is to develop Marienlyst into a great place that respects the area’s history and joins up with the knowledge-based activities around the University of Oslo’s Blindern campus. The project will help Oslo to achieve its ambition to become a greener, more creative and more inclusive city. Ferd Real Estate sees the project as a means of creating enduring value for Oslo and the surrounding area. Photo: A-lab

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Mestergruppen completes a number of important acquisitions in 2019 and further strengthens its position in the Norwegian market.

Mestergruppen now also has operations in Sweden thanks to its acquisition of XL Bygg AB. Its acquisition of Ski Bygg gives it a stronger position in Eastern Norway, while its acquisition of Nordbohus confirms its position as Norway’s leading residential developer. Mestergruppen’s greater scale and stronger purchasing power mean than it is an ever more attractive partner for independent building materials companies. Photo: Sveinung Bråthen

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Ferd acquires Simployer (formerly Infotjenester), an industry leader Simployer is the largest company in Norway in HR software, courses, expertise and finance, and it occupies a similarly strong position in Sweden.

The company had been a family-owned business since it was founded in 1985. Bjørn Petter Garden remains a minority shareholder and will still contribute in his role as a shareholder. Photo: Cornelia Bjørke-Hill

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Scatec Solar was set up in 2007 and was listed on Oslo Børs in October 2014. Ferd bought its first shares in the company in 2015 and had been one of the company’s largest shareholders since 2016.

During this period Scatec Solar more than tripled in size and became one of the ten largest independent solar energy companies in the world, and has an extensive broad portfolio of solar parks, mostly in developing countries. Photo: Scatec Solar

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The ability to achieve climate-friendly growth has become important to succeeding in the market.

Thanks to its new Impact Investing initiative, Ferd will invest in companies and funds that have a positive impact on the environment. The aim is to help have a positive impact on the environment at the same time as achieving a market return. Photo: Herman Dreyer

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A successful accelerator program for social entrepreneurs is now set to be rolled out across the Nordic region.

The aim is to help a number of early-phase companies to deliver social benefits and to become financially self-sustaining more quickly. The accelerator program is an initiative by Ferd Social Entrepreneurs and is built on a successful model developed by Denmark’s Den Sociale Kapitalfond that has delivered strong results. Photo: Alex Asensi

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