Veidekke’s major Swedish project

An agreement has been confirmed between Veidekke and Swedish property company Fabege for an SK 1.7 billion (€118 million) offices for SEB at Arenastaden, Stockholm.

Totalling a floor area of 90,000 m², it is believed to be one of the largest-ever office building projects in Sweden’s capital and will be constructed in two phases.

It includes three buildings connected with glass walkways and will feature workspace for 4,500 employees and is expected to be fully occupied by 2018.

The building will be produced with environmental sustainability as a key design factor and gaining BREEAM building excellence certification.

Confirmation of the project comes as Veidekke has released its third quarter results, which showed pre-tax profits of NOK 370 million (€43 million). Its revenue for the third quarter was NOK 5,977 million (€699 million) and turnover within construction increased by 5%.

The company said that its growth had seen a “high level of activity” including the acquisition of Swedish-based firm Arcona. Profit margins reportedly increased by 16% which it attributed to a strong performance in Norway.

"Veidekke has had continued growth and progress in the third quarter. These good figures are the result of a great deal of hard work, efficient operations and higher project margins," said Arne Giske, president and CEO of Veidekke.

He added, “I am very pleased with the improvement in profits in Construction Norway and the performance of our Danish company Hoffmann, which continues to deliver strong margins. At the same time we are seeing a decrease in the order backlog, especially within civil engineering operations. This will result in slightly lower activity within that sector this winter."