The matter in summary: The Hovi family wants to sell the Beitostølen resort, which includes almost an entire village with, among other things, a ski resort, hotel, shopping center and apartments. The area is referred to as one of the largest tourist destinations in Norway. The Hovi family have owned the company for 60 years. Atle Hovi says it is good to sell now, as there is no new generation of Hovi to take over the company. The rental income from the various properties is expected to be over NOK 100 million in 2025. BI professor Ragnhild Silkoset believes such a hall could make the village vulnerable if it ends up in the wrong hands, but the mayor of Øystre Slidre is not worried. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The area is referred to as one of the largest tourist destinations in Norway. The Hovi family have owned the company Beitostølen resort for 60 years. Brothers Atle and Bjørnar Hovi are said to have invested more than NOK 100 million in the local community in recent years. But now they want to sell bits and pieces. This is reported by Dagens Næringsliv. – We don’t have a new generation of Hovi to take over the company, says Atle Hovi. The children are too young. It will be too long to wait 20-25 years, and he doesn’t know if they will be interested either. – Therefore, it is a good idea to sell now. I think that now is the time, says Atle Hovi to news. GOOD TIMING: Atle Hovi is one of the brothers selling the business in Beitostølen, who thinks the time has come. Photo: Stine Bækkelien / news Fully built for sale The company consists of several hotels, cabins, apartments and an entire ski center with seven ski lifts, and is one of Norway’s largest tourist destinations. Meklarhuset Nordhaven, which has been commissioned to sell, expects that there will be rental income from the various properties of over NOK 100 million in 2025, writes DN. SKI FACILITY: The ski facility at Beitostølen has seven ski lifts and several slopes. Photo: Anders Bakkerud Larsen / news – Now the krone is cheap. It is overflowing with tourists. And now the interest rate peak has been reached. In the last 20 years, we have had interest from all over the world, and now we have found out that the timing is right, says Atle Hovi. He says they have an open window until Christmas to check the market. Time will tell if they have a good buyer. If not, they will continue on their own. – Sad Mayor of Øystre Slidre, Bjarne Budal (Ap), was called by Atle Hovi on Thursday, who told about the hall. He respects the choice of his brothers. – It’s sad, but at the same time I like to turn it into something positive. I know the fine people and have respect for their decision and situation. POSITIVE: Mayor Bjarne Budal (Ap) in Øystre Slidre believes Beitostølen will continue to develop in the long term. Photo: Stine Bækkelien / news The mayor does not want to speculate on who he thinks will buy the business, but he has faith that the sale will provide new opportunities for the development of Beitostølen in the long term. BI professor Ragnhild Silkoset is not as relaxed. She calls this a particularly special case. – It shows that a village can become very vulnerable if one actor is so dominant. This increases the risk for the municipality considerably. – If the one player that is this big goes bankrupt, it will affect the village badly, says Silkoset. RISK: Ragnhild Silkoset, BI professor, believes the municipality will be extra vulnerable with only one major player. Photo: Torbjørn Brovold / BI – Makes the municipality vulnerable For the village, it would be better if the owners sold piece by piece, instead of the entire business, believes the BI professor. – It can go really well if they manage to find a buyer with strong capital. But the chance that it cannot go so well is also quite large, says Silkoset. There are not many examples of such an ownership composition in other markets, the professor points out. She says that from a competitive perspective, you don’t want one dominant player, but several so that everyone has to be extra good in order to survive in the market. – There is nothing negative about the fact that they have invested their whole lives in one place. But from the municipality’s perspective, it makes them very vulnerable, says the BI professor. The Øystre Slidre mayor is not worried. – I choose not to worry. A heavy investor who wants to come in and think long-term here will, after all, want to play on a team with the rest of the industry and not least the municipality. – Those who are looking for short-term profit, I don’t think see the value in Beitostølen and the development of the town. YEAR-ROUND DESTINATION: Beitostølen is well known as a winter destination, both for uphill and downhill skiing. In recent years, Beitostølen has also developed into a year-round destination. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Uncertain about the value Hovi thinks it should be attractive to buy the Beitostølen resort, and points out that they have built up a solid year-round destination with the entire value chain in one company. Meklarhuset is going to the market all over the world to look for a suitable buyer. Atle Hovi says he has no idea what the whole thing is worth. He is also not concerned with whether there will be a Norwegian or foreign owner. – What my brother and I are concerned about is that there will be an owner who can lift Beitostølen further, get even more tourists there, secure year-round jobs and build a strong local community. He believes that actor exists. The government will require prior approval of foreign property purchases. Read why here. Published 31.08.2024, at 09.40
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After 60 years, the Hovi brothers want to sell out of the tourist destination Beitostølen – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
