The face of Sweden’s property bust fights for USD 13bn empire

A Yugoslav refugee turned Swedish property tycoon is fast running out of options to stabilize his USD 13bn empire, and the outcome will have ripple effects across Europe’s real estate industry.
A view of Stockholm, Sweden. | Photo: Ken Ross/AP/Ritzau Scanpix
A view of Stockholm, Sweden. | Photo: Ken Ross/AP/Ritzau Scanpix
By Charles Daly and Anton Wilen / Bloomberg

Ilija Batljan started amassing a portfolio of more than 2,000 properties in 2016, buying up social housing and municipal buildings from cash-strapped authorities and leasing them back. The idea was to combine steady growth with stable returns provided by reliable, long-term tenants — but the reality was an appetite for debt that was too much for the Swedish market.

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