Scandic Hotels Group - Tender indeed is the North

Newly confirmed strong finances (just 0.6x net debt/adjusted EBITDA including convertible loan) and continued Nordic market resilience, allied with multiple growth initiatives, are justifiably reinforcing Scandic’s confidence. Moves into economy (Scandic Go) and Germany mark a widening and accelerating hotel pipeline with clear scope to grow (4% of the estate vs pre-pandemic 11%), while a step-change in digitalisation via the new Oracle OPERA Cloud and enhanced loyalty programme are expected to drive material efficiencies and guest engagement. Financial flexibility should allow the company to address concerns about the maturity of the convertible loan (SEK1.2bn) in October. Consensus FY24 pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA forecast of SEK2.5bn give an EV/EBITDA of c 4.7x.