Last Friday, it was clear that property group Heimstaden Bostad AB will purchase a third of Vildanden. They will accede the 1 May.
Text by: Tindra Englund Translated by: Viktor Jönsson
Heimstaden Bostad AB will buy 313 of the student accommodations at Vildanden in Lund for 397 million SEK.
“We are very pleased with the price and got more than we previously expected”, says Henrik Krantz, co-president of AF Bostäder.
Another factor which was, according to Henrik Krantz, important to AF bostäder in the sales process was to make sure Heimstaden is a stable and long-term owner.
“One of the reasons we are so pleased is that Heimstaden Bostad AB is an owner that takes the long-term. Otherwise you would think someone immediately splits the accommodations into separate properties or empties them, but we do not believe that Heimstaden is that type of owner”, says Henrik Krantz.
The last time AF bostäder sold large amounts of student accommodations was in the eighties, in connection with the number of students decreasing. But today, it is instead about getting capital towards new production.
“We are venturing so much on new productions and we want to strengthen ourselves for it. Also, we want accommodations that are optimal for our purpose, and that is not accommodations for families”, says Henrik Krantz.
According to Sydsvenskan, the students who live in the apartments will be able to stay, even after they stopped studying, because Heimstaden will not have any demands that you have to be a student.
“Anyone who live in Lund will have the possibility to rent an apartment from us, not just students”, says Fredrik Årman, transaction manager at Heimstaden, to Sydsvenskan.
Furthermore, there will be no increase in rent with the sell, but the rent might increase as usual as next year’s rent negotiation or in correlation with a renovation.
“Heimstaden has different focus than us and views the individual tenant as a customer who they very much would like to cooperate with for a longer period of time. And then discussions could pop up regarding the customer wanting to do a rise in standard and is willing to pay a little more for it”, says Henrik Krantz.
How purely practical things like broadband and washhouses will work is not clear at this time.
“But we have started with full speed regarding these questions and we will meet with Heimstaden already next week, and together we will work regarding solving these practical elements. And if we do not find a solution we will help out during the transition”, says Henrik Krantz.
What happens to the students who no longer want to stay in the apartments when they are owned by Heimstaden but instead want to find an AFB owned apartment is something Henrik Krantz cannot answer at this time.
“This will become clearer with time but it is something I do not want to get into today”, says Henrik Krantz, co-president of AF bostäder.
