Creades

Active ownership in Nordic companies is how Creades, a Swedish investment company, describes its strategy. Its stated aim is long-term value creation, and its site calls the company a committed, long-term owner of both listed and unlisted businesses.

Origin and listing

Creades came out of the division of Investment AB Öresund around the new year of 2011 and 2012, and it has traded on the main market of Nasdaq Stockholm since 2013. Its portfolio is mainly listed holdings, topped up with a significant share of unlisted growth companies and liquid funds. The home page puts the split at roughly four fifths listed and one fifth unlisted.

A name from creative destruction

The company took its name from creative destruction, a concept drawn from the economic theories of Joseph Schumpeter, who argued that innovation and technological change drive long-term economic change. The firm says this shapes its philosophy: it favours companies that challenge established structures and create new forms of customer value through innovation and digitalisation, and it focuses on small and medium-sized Nordic businesses.

Listed holdings

Among the largest and best-known listed holdings, the site names Avanza, Silex and Apotea. Cards on its home page carry short descriptions for the holdings: one promises more for the customer and less for the bank, one names a world-leading player in MEMS foundry work, and another is Sweden's largest fully stocked pharmacy that exists only online.

Unlisted holdings

The unlisted companies named are StickerApp, Inet, Instabee, Lumene and Mentimeter. The home page cards also describe a business where customers make their own stickers, decals and labels, one selling computers, components and accessories to dedicated users, and one doing ecommerce logistics with a focus on deliveries.

Position as an owner

Where a company is listed, Creades invests with the same active ownership perspective it applies to private companies. Its home page also carries a message from its chief executive and its chairman about the long-term approach.

Creades is a Swedish investment company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. It takes an active ownership role in small and medium-sized Nordic businesses, both listed and unlisted, with a view to building value over the long term.

The company came into being when Investment AB Öresund was split at the turn of 2011 and 2012, and it has been listed since 2013. Its name comes from the idea of creative destruction, and it favours companies that challenge established ways of working through innovation and digitalisation.

Products and services

• Active ownership: it holds significant stakes and works with the businesses it owns.
• Listed holdings: the larger part of its portfolio, including Avanza, Silex and Apotea.
• Unlisted growth companies: a substantial share, including StickerApp, Inet, Instabee, Lumene and Mentimeter.

Customers and markets

Small and mid-sized companies in the Nordic region.

Key facts

• Based in: Stockholm, Sweden
• Founded: created from the split of Investment AB Öresund at the turn of 2011 and 2012
• Listing: Nasdaq Stockholm main market since 2013
• Language: the website is in Swedish