Page 7 - Mellby Gård Yearbook 2018–2019

ambition is to fill the gap that exists in the Swedish market when it comes to this need, with greater capacity being needed to meet the care guarantee applied in Sweden. The target is for the clinic to open in 2020.
Our holding in Ferronordic was divested during the year and we have instead become the second-largest owner in Necst Motors. Necst sells Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Trucks in East Africa. These are exciting operations, in which we are currently building a business in what, for us, is a new geography.
Another interesting investment is Anocca, one of Mikael Blomkvist’s latest companies. Anocca develops a technology that is in line with the latest in cancer research, that is, immunotherapy, in which the body’s own immune system is used to break down various forms of cancer.
After the end of the financial year, Mellby Gård acquired all remaining shares
in KappAhl, removing the company from the stock exchange, through a
public offer that was accepted by more than 90 percent of the shareholders. Accordingly, KappAhl has become a wholly owned subsidiary within Mellby Gård and it is gratifying that the shareholders felt that our offer was attractive.
We wanted to buy KappAhl out from the stock exchange because we believe that the restructuring process that has commenced is suited best for an unlisted environment. In addition, our view of the company and its future prospects was simply more positive than that of the market. In particular, we are confident in the brands developed in-house, such as Newbie. KappAhl also has increased sales outside the Nordic region and growing e-commerce operations. From Mellby Gård’s perspective, we also perceive synergies with other clothing companies within the group and it will be very exciting to be able to advance that process now.
Being a company within Mellby Gård entails having an active owner. We are involved as board members in all of our companies, usually as Chairman, maintaining an ongoing dialogue about how we can further improve as owners. We are currently also considering injecting additional resources into selected areas at our headquarters in Malmö. We can always improve further at identifying new investment opportunities and improving how we provide business support to our existing companies.
Over the next year, we will continue to seek out and conduct acquisitions that supplement our existing holdings. At the same time, we will remain selective with regard to larger new investments. However, I do not exclude major investments in the future, even in completely new
areas, by both unlisted and listed companies. For the time being, though, we are filling the coffers to be extra strong when the market looks different.
Malmö, October 2019
Johan Andersson, CEO, Mellby Gård AB
MELLBY GÅRD – YEARBOOK 2018 / 2019
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