It is thought that Swedish commercial property companies need to refinance around SEK 300 billion (€26.4 billion) of loans between now and the end of 2024. But with the country’s real estate sector groaning under high leverage levels and expensive refinancing deals, a degree of panic has set into the market.

Whereas in the past, property firms could turn to the domestic corporate bond market for cheap money, they are now struggling to find new financing. And the banks are not help- ing. Property companies account for around 44 percent of banks’ commercial lending, according to Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority predicts banks could lose up to SEK 45 billion (€4 billion) in a sharp downturn, due to their exposure to commercial property. As a consequence, Moody’s has said that some real estate investors will need to find alternative financing sources to cover their debt maturities. Banks will probably offer some support,