![\"Sweden4\"](\"http:\/\/newclone.retiremove.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sweden4.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe farmers, Nigel Evans and\u00a0Bill Ridge (pictured right) clubbed together with Huw Evans to form the property investment company Evanridge\u00a0back in 2006 and have since built up a framework of Swedish contacts and advisors\u00a0to accrue\u00a0an investment portfolio\u00a0worth over \u00a335 million.<\/p>\n
Returns\u00a0have been\u00a0so favourable (12 per cent per annum), during some of the toughest economic conditions, that the group\u00a0has created\u00a0its own investment programmes\u00a0so they can offer\u00a0other\u00a0UK investors a slice of the action.\u00a0Up until now most of its investors have, like them,\u00a0been farmers. “They are notoriously cynical, sceptical and cautious,” says Nigel Evans. “But you don’t need to be a farmer to be an investor.”<\/p>\n
Evanridge now has two profitable investment programmes and is currently\u00a0seeking investors for a third, providing an opportunity for those\u00a0with a\u00a0pension cash lump sum.<\/p>\n
Sweden’s attraction is that it\u00a0offers a strong, stable economy, which has resisted much of the economic downturn and is now recovering faster than most developed countries. Its national debt is under 40 per cent of GDP, compared to 74 per cent in the US and almost 90 per cent in the UK.<\/p>\n
Peter, 59 and Sue Taylor, 60\u00a0(pictured below)\u00a0farm 300 acres of arable land in Whitchurch, Shropshire and are semi retired. Seven years ago they invested \u00a3130,000 with Evanridge and are now looking at a return of some \u00a3200,000. \u201cThe investment\u00a0ticked all the boxes for us,” said Peter.<\/p>\n “We liked the idea of a managed property investment. We did our research and liked the guys; they know what they are doing.<\/p>\n “They are also investors themselves which gave us added confidence.\u00a0We felt it was not a high-risk investment. We liked the fact that the investment is in sterling and everything is very transparent. We’ve made four trips out to Sweden to visit the properties and have really enjoyed our visits\u00a0as we get to\u00a0meet other investors; we will be investing in the next portfolio.”<\/p>\n The\u00a0Evanridge founders\u00a0travelled all over the\u00a0world looking for a new investment opportunity suitable for individuals, corporate organisations, self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and small self-administered schemes. They found it in Sweden and have\u00a0structured it\u00a0as a share issue for a Swedish public limited company, which both purchases and manages the properties\u00a0– a mixture of residential and commercial in the towns surrounding Sweden\u2019s second city Gothenburg.<\/p>\n Evanridge’s latest\u00a0acquisition is two blocks totalling 152 student flats in Trollh\u00e4ttan, the quirky birthplace of the now defunct Swedish car manufacturer Saab,\u00a0and home to a prestigious\u00a0film studio and walk of fame featuring Nicole Kidman.<\/p>\n<\/a>Some 46\u00a0per cent\u00a0of the Swedish population lives in rented\u00a0apartments or flats\u00a0compared to 21 per cent in the UK. Combine this with a well-regulated rental system, plus an ongoing shortfall of rental properties in many regions, and Sweden offers a steady rental income and attractive rental yields.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n