Financial Structure and Asset Portfolio Adjustmentsunder Financial Stress : A Panel Data Study of Swedish Listed Commercial and Mixed Real Estate Firms (2020–2025)

Sammanfattning

This study examines how Swedish listed commercial and mixed real estate firms adjusted their financial structures and asset portfolios under sustained financial pressure between 2020 and 2025. This period was characterized by elevated inflation, rising interest rates, tighter credit conditions, and declining property values, placing pressure on a highly leveraged sector reliant on debt financing. Using quarterly panel data for 19 listed firms, the study applies fixed effects regression analysis to examine adjustments across macroeconomic phases and across firms with different pre-shock financial conditions. The analysis focuses on changes in leverage, liquidity, debt-servicing capacity, borrowing costs, investment intensity, development pipelines, and net acquisitions during financial stress. The results show that adjustment occurred primarily through cash flow and investment-related variables rather than immediate balance sheet restructuring. During 2022–2023, higher interest rates weakened interest coverage ratios and increased borrowing costs, whereas leverage measures remained relatively stable in the short-run. The findings also indicate selective heterogeneity across firms, as pre-shock financial conditions influenced borrowing costs and acquisition activity more clearly than liquidity, development pipelines, and leverage adjustments. Overall, this study highlights the importance of financial flexibility and pre-shock conditions in shaping firm resilience under prolonged financial stress.