Unisport Scales Up in the Nordics
After standing on its own since the turn of the year, Unisport is now investing in strengthening its position in the Nordic region. The group sees new opportunities thanks to clear ownership governance.
Unisport is today one of the Nordic region’s leading suppliers of sports and recreational facilities. With its one-stop-shop concept, the company offers expertise in design, installation and maintenance for indoor sports. The new ownership structure brings a sharper focus and greater opportunities for long-term investment.
– We have an engaged owner in Accent Equity who believes in our business and is committed to moving forward. We are market leaders in Sweden and Finland, and with this new platform we now have both the resources and expertise to take that position in Norway and Denmark as well, says Ted Bengtsson, CEO of Unisport.
The company has its roots in Swedish Rantzow and Finnish Kerko, with the Swedish part dating back 100 years.
– Our big journey started when our previous owner merged Unisport, Rantzow, and Kerko, which gave us broader operations. But as in all PE-owned cases, an exit journey awaits. For us, the exit happened later than we had anticipated, but now we stand on our own feet and it feels incredibly exciting, says Ted Bengtsson.
With Norion Bank as its new financing partner, the company looks forward to further strengthening its position in the Nordic market.
– Norion Bank is straightforward, pragmatic and understands our business. Our collaboration is built on trust and sound judgment, which feels solid as we continue our journey forward, says Ted Bengtsson.
Simon Hansson, Senior Client Manager at Norion Bank, also looks forward to the new partnership.
– Unisport is an exciting company with a long history. We hope to contribute with expertise and strategic advice as they pursue their upcoming initiatives in the Nordics, says Simon Hansson.
Sustainability has long been an integrated part of Unisport’s operations. The goal is to continue leading and driving development in the industry.
– It’s a hygiene factor for us to be able to meet end-customer demands, but we want to offer more than that. Our size and expertise allow us to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to creating sustainable solutions, both from a business perspective and in terms of influencing society, says Ted Bengtsson.
The future also involves a greater focus on digitalization.
– Our end customers can be a large municipality or a small nonprofit club that has saved money for 10 years to renovate their facility. We aim to create automation that simplifies everyday life when building activity areas for our citizens, regardless of what the process looks like, says Ted Bengtsson.