Bure Equity AB
Well managed and some interesting holdings, but you can easily DIY
Often confused with a listed private equity/venture capital fund, Bure Equity ($BURE.ST) is a SEK 21 billion (€1.9 billion) Swedish investment company with a distinct long-term growth approach.
Bure was established in 1992 when the government of Prime Minister Carl Bildt wound up Sweden’s wage earner investment funds, so it was originally a state-owned company. It was then listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in 1993: today Patrik Tigerschiöld (Chairman) directly controls 10.5% of the shares, while Ted and Stephanie Tigerschiöld each control around 5%; the Björkman family owns a further 8.2%, while the rest of the float is mostly held by Nordic institutional investors. The Tigerschiöld and Björkman families became significant shareholders after the merger in 2010 of Bure with their company Skanditek Industriförvaltning AB.1
Business model and history
The cornerstones of Bure’s business model are in-depth engagement and a strong presence in the portfolio companies.
Long-term principal ownership: Bure positions itself as a committed owner with patient capital and active engagement by taking majority or significant minority stakes to exert controlling influence: there is always a Bure’s representative at the board level in each investee, often in the Chairman position
Common goals: however, the companies’ management teams keep running their companies and Bure provides experienced advisors, strategic guidance, and capital
No fixed or predetermined exit strategy: Bure’s approach is long-term but not “buy-and-forget”: it evaluates each opportunity over a period of three to five years, although investment timeframes are typically longer (some of the current companies have been held for 15 years), holding companies as long as value creation potential remains, and only divesting when better opportunities arise. It’s also not uncommon to see Bure executes partial exits and later add back to the same investments: creative liquidity strategies (e.g., secondaries, warrants) align with industry trends to manage cash flow in tough exit markets
Diversification, but within sector and geography focus: the firm targets knowledge-driven service companies, particularly in education, medtech/life science, technology and professional services (high-growth, innovation-driven sectors); it maintains an agnostic approach within these sectors, investing in both listed and unlisted small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a strong concentration in Sweden
Financial strength: Bure navigated multiple crises (2001-2002, 2008, COVID, 2022 macro uncertainty) by focusing on resilient sectors and maintaining a strong balance sheet (~100% equity-to-assets ratio). Contrary to PE/VC, all of Bure’s investments are funded through its own balance sheet: as it believes in its portfolio companies' business concepts and in long-term profitability, the capacity to support companies facing temporary challenges is essential to the companies' continued development