Granlund grew and achieved great results in 2020 despite COVID-19
18.3.2021 – Granlund achieved great results in 2020 despite COVID-19. The company strives to double its EUR 100 million net sales by the year 2025.
The company’s net sales grew by 13% since the previous year, reaching EUR 103.3 million (EUR 91.6 million). The Group’s operating profit was EUR 11.7 million. The company reached its objective set for turnover in 2020 and holds a strong position heading into the new strategic period.
The pandemic affected the market the most in the metropolitan area of Finland
Overall, the Granlund Group survived the past year well. The transfer to remote work practices a year ago went surprisingly smoothly. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the market the most in the metropolitan area of Finland, but the operations of many Finnihsh regional Granlund offices were normal or even better than usual.
“COVID-19 changed the market, but we were able to compensate for the slowing down of basic investments by using our specialist know-how. Our long-term customers, the strengthening of our continuous services and programmes and active operations, especially in our largest regional companies, resulted in the company having a stronger year than we were able to anticipate in the spring”, says Pekka Metsi, CEO of Granlund
New strategy aims to year 2025
Granlund’s number of personnel grew by 101 in 2020, reaching 1,095 employees by the end of the year. Like every year, all of Granlund’s employees are included in the profit-related bonus scheme, under which EUR 5.5 million was paid out.
“For the people of Granlund, the past year was more challenging compared to many previous years. The lack of demand last autumn caused some worries, but our people were able to perform well even in a more challenging market. I would like to thank our own specialists and our customers for the support they have shown,” Metsi says.
Granlund’s new strategy was launched in spring 2020. The objective is to improve the profitability and operating models of the industry, invest in environmentally responsible solutions, be the best workplace of the sector and internationalise. The company strives to double its EUR 100 million net sales by the year 2025. Responsibility is highlighted in the Group’s own operations as well as in the business activities of its customers. Granlund set itself a target to be carbon-neutral in 2021 and joined the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
Last year, the Group expanded by means of four acquisitions in Finland: in Mikkeli, Rovaniemi and Kajaani as well as in Helsinki by expanding to housing management business activities. At the turn of the year, Granlund Oy renewed its service structure and Granlund Consulting Oy merged with its parent company. The Group’s new strategy is behind the renewal, with the objective of increased focus on continuous services, energy solutions and developing productivity through the use of data. The Group is also emphasising the role of technical building services in the construction process and making special expertise a more major part of all operations.
The business areas developed positively
In project business, strong sectoral fluctuation was experienced in 2020. In daily consumer goods, the pace of investments was more rapid than usual in the autumn; however, the number of new projects in the hotel, tourism and facility projects decreased. There was strengthening in the data centre and energy business as well as in renovation, for instance. Building development and monitoring services were intensified in various Granlund offices while renovation services are regarded as one of the strongest development areas.
In software business, the digitalisation of real estate management processes is making rapid progress. Leading with information is taken seriously in property maintenance and energy management, and the demands for enhancing performance cause more and more operators to invest in the sharing of information and benefitting from it.
In consultancy, there was a lot of demand for energy efficiency projects and energy management, for instance. On the other hand, the customers’ carbon-neutral objectives increased the demand for environmental and energy consulting services. Carbon footprint will be increasingly more included in the decision-making. After a slow spring and summer, the Finnish real estate business reached almost normal volumes of due diligence activities in the autumn.
Granlund invested EUR 6.1 million, or about 6% of consolidated net sales, in innovation and development activities. The application of new technologies as well as the flow and utilisation of data by means of machine learning and artificial intelligence were highlighted in the company’s operations. Digital twin solutions were one of the most important development areas.
Want to hear more?
Pekka Metsi
More of our news
Viiskorven energiaratkaisun luontovaikutukset huomioitiin jo selvitysvaiheessa
09.10.2024 – Espoon Viiskorpeen kaavoitettavalle kaupunkialueelle etsitään innovatiivista, kustannustehokasta ja ilmastokestävää energiajärjestelmää, jolla on mahdollisimman vähän negatiivisia luontovaikutuksia. Työ haluttiin aloittaa varhaisessa…
Vattendata flödar till Granlund Manager
08.10.2024 – Integrationen av Granlund Manager och Smartvatten gör uppföljningen och rapporteringen av vattenförbrukningen betydligt snabbare och tillförlitligare. De strängare kraven på…
Granlund designs specialised AI data centers for Nordic climate
02.10.2024 – The Artificial Intelligence boom creates a need for a new generation of data centers. An AI data center has unique…
Konkariarkkitehti Olli Nieminen aloitti Kuopion uuden arkkitehtiosaston johtajana
29.08.2024 – Arkkitehtitoimisto ON Oy:n Olli Nieminen jatkaa yrityskaupan jälkeen Granlundin uuden arkkitehtiosaston johtajana. Asiakkaita palvellaan Kuopiossa jatkossakin paikallisesti, mutta suuremmilla resursseilla.
Eero Mikkola aloittaa joulukuussa Granlundilla rakennesuunnittelun liiketoimintajohtajana
22.08.2024 – Eero Mikkola on nimitetty Granlundin rakennesuunnittelun liiketoimintajohtajaksi ja johtoryhmän jäseneksi. Tavoitteena on vahvistaa rakennetekniikan palveluja ja ottaa kokonaisvaltaisempi ote kestävän…
Uusi hanke vauhdittaa kiertotaloutta talotekniikassa
21.08.2024 – Hankkeessa kerätään tietoa ja tutkitaan, miten kiertotalous onnistuu käytännössä. Lisäksi selvitetään tuotteiden uudelleenkäytön edellytyksiä.
LVI-laskentarekisteriä voi käyttää yhä useammilla laskentaohjelmilla
21.08.2024 – LVI-alan toimijoiden määrä- ja kustannuslaskentaa helpottava LVI-laskentarekisteri on nyt käytettävissä yhä useammilla laskentaohjelmilla. Brokerin ja Admicom Ultiman lisäksi käytössä on…
Kiinteistösijoittaja – joko tunnet vuokrahankemallin mahdollisuudet sote-kiinteistöissä?
16.08.2024 – Yhä useampi sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon kiinteistö toteutetaan vuokrahankemallilla. Asiantuntijakumppanina autamme huomioimaan sote-kiinteistöjen toiminnalliset ja tekniset kustannusvaikutukset jo tarjous- ja kehitysvaiheessa.
Granlund ostaa merkittävän pohjalaisen arkkitehtitoimiston
13.08.2024 – Etelä-pohjalainen Arkkitehtitoimisto Jääskeläinen Oy siirtyy yrityskaupalla osaksi Granlundia. ”Meillä alan hankala suhdanne ei näy, vaan olemme pysyneet kasvu-uralla koko ajan”,…
Subscribe to our newsletter
Be among the first to hear about the latest news and trends relating to Granlund and the real estate and construction sectors.
