The landlord at the center of a commercial property crisis in Sweden is being investigated by the country’s financial watchdog over whether it violated accounting rules.
The Financial Supervisory Authority will determine if Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB — more commonly known as SBB — breached certain rules when compiling its consolidated accounts for 2021, according to a statement. This development comes after the Council for Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision submitted a case to the financial watchdog.
SBB shares fell as much as 10.1% when trading started in the Swedish capital on Thursday.
The investigation by Finansinspektionen adds further pressure on the embattled firm as it struggles with an $8 billion debt pile amid sharply rising interest rates. The company was downgraded to junk by S&P Global Ratings in early May, a move that sent its shares into free-fall and led to a scrapped dividend and the ousting of its founder and Chief Executive Ilija Batljan. SBB couldn’t immediately be reached for a comment.
The probe includes the valuation of properties in connection to SBB’s Trygge Barnehager and Laeringsverkstedet portfolios, the accounting of asset acquisitions regarding Amasten and Offentliga hus and alternative key metrics, the watchdog said.
