What: Swedish department store group Åhléns is listing on Nasdaq Stockholm the SEK 500 million secured bond it issued in October 2025, partly to refinance about SEK 513.8 million of Covid-era deferred taxes.

Why it is important: Attica raised equity in Athens, while Åhléns is turning to secured debt, which shows how different the capital routes open to European department stores now are.

Åhléns Group has published a prospectus, approved by Finansinspektionen on 14 October 2026, to list on Nasdaq Stockholm the SEK 500 million senior secured bond it issued in October 2025. The bond pays three-month STIBOR plus 5.00%, matures in April 2029 and is secured on shares in the issuer and its material subsidiaries. Its proceeds partly refinance about SEK 513.8 million of employer contributions, preliminary tax deductions and VAT deferred under temporary Covid-19 rules.

The group operates about 70 stores in Sweden, around 50 of them Åhléns department stores, alongside e-commerce, Designtorget, Åhléns Outlet and Dashl beauty services. It is controlled by companies owned by Group CEO Ayad Al-Saffar and by Torsten Jansson and Göran Härstedt. The Stockholm flagship, Åhléns City, generates about 20% of sales, and the group's only significant distribution centre, at Rosersberg, serves stores and online orders.

By purchase value, about 60% of supply comes from wholesale suppliers, 20% from consignment or concession partners and 20% from private-label manufacturers. A 2.5 million member loyalty programme steers range, pricing and offers. Among the risks it discloses, the group cites a clear shift from premium to lower-priced alternatives and margin pressure from non-EU cross-border e-commerce operators.

IADS Notes: Åhléns' secured bond, priced at STIBOR + 5.00%, contrasts with the equity route taken by Attica, which listed on Euronext Athens with a €192.5 million market capitalisation and raised €57.6 million in an offer 3.9 times oversubscribed (Press Release, July 2026). The non-EU cross-border operators cited in the prospectus as a margin threat have faced a €3 EU duty per item on consignments of €150 or less since 1 July 2026, with a handling fee expected at €2 to €4 from 1 November 2026 (Ecommerce Europe, August 2026). Åhléns sources about 20% of purchases through consignment or concession partners; Saks Global, which emerged from bankruptcy with more than 350 such agreements, illustrates the trade-off between lower inventory risk on one side and reduced margin potential and harder asset-backed lending on the other (WWD, June 2026).

Åhléns lists its SEK 500 million secured bond on Nasdaq Stockholm