Business environment

External environment risks refer to risks due to the influence of external factors, mainly outside Castellum’s control, but to which Castellum has to relate. These risks can be divided into macroeconomic risks, crises changes in legislation and regulatory compliance.

RISK

 

MANAGEMENT

 

EXPOSURE

MACROECONOMIC RISKS

 

 

 

PRIORITY: FOCUS

 

DEVELOPMENT:

1. Macro – crisis
Macroeconomic risks are risks associated with a general reduction in demand in the economy, low inflation, deflation or situations which entail general difficulties in obtaining financing, or alternatively obtaining financing at higher credit margins.

 
  • Business intelligence
  • Strong balance sheet and low loan-to-value ratio
  • Well-composed contract portfolio with a wide spread regarding notice period, industry, type of premises, contract size and geography
  • Deflation protection or a minimum upward adjustment of leases
  • Multiple sources of financing
  • Frequent renegotiations and supply of new credit agreements
  • Asset portfolio concentrated on growth areas
  • Natural macroeconomic hedging mechanism between higher/lower interest costs and rental income, but with some time delay

 

A weak economy negatively impacts the demand for premises, leading to increased vacancies, falling market rents and loss of indexation for existing leases. In addition, the risk of payment problems – or even bankruptcies – among tenants increases, resulting in immediate negative effects on cash flow.
Limited access to capital reduces Castellum’s opportunities to conduct operations. Ultimately, reduced demand in the economy leads to declining property values.

CRISES

 

 

 

PRIORITY: FOCUS

 

DEVELOPMENT: 

2. Crises
Crises include all crisis events that arise in the business environment that Castellum cannot influence and are difficult to foresee, for example, terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, pandemics, extreme weather events and environmental disasters as well as information leaks.

 
  • Crisis plan
  • Succession planning for senior executives
  • Full coverage insurance, properties
  • Guidelines for information security and the creation of understanding and awareness among users that information is an asset that should be handled with care.
  • Continuity plan IT
  • Expanded efforts in digitalization throughout our entire operations.
  • Increase knowledge of the impact of climate change on operations.

 
  • No one remained unaffected by last year’s global coronavirus pandemic. Castellum was affected as well, even though it has a highly differentiated asset portfolio.
  • In pace with rapid digitalisation, the threats and vulnerability that digitalisation entails also increase.
  • IT attacks and hacking in the world around us have increased over the last few years.
  • In pace with a continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions internationally, the risk of more extreme weather events and environmental catastrophes increases, as do their consequences.

CHANGES IN LEGISLATION

 

 

 

PRIORITY: FOCUS

 

DEVELOPMENT: 

3. Changes in legislation
Changes in legislation or ordinances, both national and international, can impact Castellum. Some examples are tax legislation, new regulations for banks, procedures for planning processes, and so on.

 
  • Monitor developments regarding laws, regulations, praxis and so on within the areas most essential to Castellum.
  • Actively participate as much as possible in debate.
  • Prepare Castellum for new or amended regulations.
  • Continual renegotiation of credit agreements.
  • Broaden the financing base via more sources of financing and financiers.

 

Changes in legislation can impact future opportunities to invest, or alternately result in price increases, which lead to poorer yields moving forward. New banking legislation can impact access to financing and the price of borrowed capital, and could trigger credit covenants that would lead to increased financing costs.
Changes in tax rates and tax legislation, such as proposals regarding interest deduction limitations, new regulations concerning tax depreciation and prohibitions on “bundling” of properties, may affect Castellum’s future tax expenses.

 

 

 

 

PRIORITY: FOCUS

 

DEVELOPMENT: 

4. Regulatory compliance
Inadequate compliance could lead to financial losses, supervisory sanctions, loss of reputation, and in the worst case to delisting. Some regulations, such as IFRS, are open to interpretation, which means that Castellum and regulatory supervisors may have different opinions.

 
  • A corporate culture built on high ethical ideals.
  • Strict internal control processes with quality assurance at several stages.
  • Code of Conduct.
  • Competent and responsible employees.
  • Monitor the development of legislation, praxis, court orders etc.
  • Compliance function that reports directly to the Audit and Finance Committee.
  • Whistleblower function.

 

Conducting Castellum’s operations responsibly is crucial for the Group’s long-term success. The company’s operations and ability to continue creating value are based on relationships among employees, tenants, partners, investors, authorities and so on.
Each and every employee jointly creates a shared image of Castellum through their conduct and what they provide to the surrounding community.

 

 

 

 

 

Reduced focus on risk area since previous year

 

 

 

 

Unchanged focus on risk area since previous year

 

 

 

 

Increased focus on risk area since previous year