News

The first quarter of 2025 was an active period for United Partners, focused on stable growth across all major investment areas. In this report, we highlight key developments in the residential and commercial real estate segments as well as in private equity investments.

Residential real estate

We are currently preparing three new projects, with active work ongoing on zoning and planning. The total number of residential units across these developments will be 36.

Commercial real estate

Trade and logistics

In the first quarter of 2025, we continued optimizing the capital structure of the existing portfolio and strengthening client relationships. In cooperation with Citadele Bank, UPP Olaines OÜ’s bonds and SIA Olaines Logistics’ bank loan were refinanced, with a total transaction value of €25.5 million. Additionally, the lease agreements of two anchor tenants – MAXIMA Latvija SIA and DPD Lietuva UAB – were extended.

The main goals for the coming quarters are to increase portfolio value through expansions and further strengthening of client relationships.

Additionally, the design and planning process continues for an office building in Tallinn (12 floors and a gross floor area of 5,400 m²).

Social infrastructure

In the first quarter, the focus was on capital raising and preparing for strategic portfolio expansion. Active preparations were made for the acquisition of new assets, and negotiations with various potential partners are ongoing. Meanwhile, the existing portfolio of three elderly care homes continued to generate stable rental income.

Private equity investments

Equity United

The private equity fund Equity United PE1 was fully invested as of 31 December 2023, and active work with eight portfolio companies continued throughout the first quarter of 2025.

In the renewable energy segment, portfolio companies PE Holding and 9 Sparnai operated six solar parks in Estonia and two wind parks in Lithuania. The installed capacity of the solar parks is 24 MW, and the installed capacity of the wind parks is 10.6 MW. As of the end of Q1, active developments are underway for a hybrid park in Estonia (solar capacity of 26.1 MW and wind capacity of 16 MW) and an energy storage project (3.6 MW of power and 7.2 MWh of storage capacity).

Solar energy solutions provider Smartecon continued projects across all three Baltic countries. The company’s under-construction solar plant portfolio exceeds 130 MW. At the same time, the design, construction, and delivery of energy storage solutions is gaining momentum, positively impacting the company’s Q1 results.

For Tactical Solution, specializing in freeze-dried food production, the first quarter was a record period in terms of sales volumes, driven by the successful servicing of national tenders. Development work also continued in the new B2B business line, Chef Urban. Another food sector portfolio company, Saaremaa Delifood, managed to grow its revenues by nearly a quarter year-on-year, with significant contributions from cup-packaged products and the HoReCa segments. This year, the company is focusing on expanding its export portfolio and improving profitability.

Ceranos Invest OÜ, engaged in the production of boats and kayaks, sold approximately two-thirds of its total 2024 boat sales volume within the first three months of 2025.
SeaStorm-branded boat models have gained notable international recognition.
Active efforts are underway to enhance production efficiency and expand sales and distribution channels.

Stay Larsen, which offers fully furnished accommodation solutions, continued to operate four properties during the first quarter while working on three additional development projects. The first quarter results were stronger across almost all areas compared to the same period last year. At the end of the quarter, portfolio occupancy reached 95%, which is particularly noteworthy given the increased allocation toward the short-term rental segment.

The first quarter was also successful for Billo.app, a platform producing short-form video advertisements. New automated data analysis solutions have been implemented to support revenue growth and improve the effectiveness of advertisements. Additionally, expansion into new English-speaking markets has commenced.

Nordic Vehicles Group

Despite subpar economic environment in the Baltic region and some of our product line segments, Nordic Vehicles Group (NVG) managed to post stable results in accordance with our plans. For Q1 2025, NVG achieved revenue of €30.2 million and operating profit of €520 thousand. In addition to our existing product line-up, we also made first sales from a new brand that we hope will turn into a long-term partnership going forward.

The focus for next quarters remains on developing passenger vehicle rental service in Latvia and heavy machinery rental in all three countries.

We are grateful for the strengthened co-operation with Citadele Bank. In Q1 2025, we concluded an agreement regarding full-package financing of our Lithuanian heavy machinery business unit HML.