Bonum investing heavily in housing

After starting with contracting, childhood friends at Bonum AS focused on attic conversions, and now they sell 100 flats per year

The childhood friends from Tønsberg thought, and still think, that property is exciting. That is why they established Bonum AS in 2011 and started contracting. None of them had experience from either the contracting or property industry.
On the other hand, they had collectively broad education and experience in areas including law, finance and marketing.

Started with bathrooms

Bonum started by refurbishing bathrooms and kitchens for private individuals. We brought in master builders who were responsible for the projects, whilst we began employing other tradespeople, says Chief Executive Officer Thomas Begum Bø at Bonum AS.
Gradually there were larger contracting projects, but the business really took off when Bonum, in summer 2013, bought the attic spaces of the housing cooperative Rosenhoff Kvartal, also in Oslo, for approximately 13 million kroner.

Transferring expertise

In the attic spaces, Bonum built and sold 25 flats. This became not only a good project for the company financially, they also learnt a great deal.

It is very complex and challenging to convert attics into flats. In addition to finding good solutions, there are very many building regulations to comply with. Therefore, attics are not something just anyone can undertake. For us, it is a great advantage to have our own contracting division, so that we can transfer expertise from project to project, says Acquisitions Manager Anders Eriksen at Bonum.

Focus on own projects

After the attic spaces were sold, the company's own development projects became the main focus. The contracting business is still substantial, but it primarily supports Bonum's own projects.

In total, there are now around 80 employees at Bonum, of whom approximately 30 work with electrical and plumbing. Last year, the group had a turnover of 104.7 million kroner and achieved a pre-tax profit of 8.4 million.

Doubling number of homes

Whilst Bonum produced approximately 50 homes last year, this number will be doubled in the current year. That will generate a turnover of approximately 300 million kroner.

Bonum has good banking relationships who have had faith in us and who have seen our ability to deliver. That has been absolutely crucial for us, emphasises Bø.

What kind of ambitions do you have?

We now have a good foundation and a team with broad expertise. Therefore, Bonum has clear ambitions for further growth, he answers.

Hands on

Attics remain a focus area for Bonum, but Eriksen points out that they must be of a certain size to be interesting.

The housing cooperative at Rosenhoff chose us precisely because we have our own contracting division, and are not just a developer. They wanted a player who is "hands on", and this model has made Bonum an attractive partner, he believes.

Full control

Eriksen is also keen that the company should optimise building projects and have full control of the building site.

This is often where things can grind to a halt. Bonum has always been conscious of having our own project manager on the building site, so that progress is maintained. That is absolutely crucial for achieving good profitability in the projects, he says.

Four housing types

Bonum's development projects are divided into four housing types. "Bonum Signatur" comprises homes in the highest price bracket with exclusive material choices, distinctive character and focus on details. The purchase of a flat with an associated attic space at Bygdøy allé 45 on Frogner in Oslo is an example of this.

We extended the flat and did thorough preparatory work to achieve an efficient floor plan with good material choices. This was a project where we gained a great deal of good experience, says Bø.

The exclusive flat was sold after one week, just below the asking price.

Building in Voksenkollen

"Livet på toppen" comprises the attic flats, whilst "Urban Living" consists of centrally located and modern flats with high utilisation of space, for example beds that slide into the wall.

The fourth housing type, "Rom for mer", comprises family homes. Here, Bonum is amongst other things in the process of building 29 homes in Voksenkollen.

Seeking partners

Bonum is constantly on the lookout for new projects, both in terms of sales and partnerships.

For example, there are a number of people who own older apartment buildings in Oslo without having any ambitions other than to continue letting them out. For these owners, there can be much to gain from upgrading and optimising individual buildings, says Eriksen.
Bonum wishes to collaborate with such owners and has, according to Eriksen, considerable capacity internally.

What about commercial property?

Bonum is open to most things and does not rule this out as an interesting focus area. We also have experience of converting commercial property to residential, answers Eriksen.