Sten Mortstedt, the founder and executive director of CLS Holdings plc, has passed away today at the age of 80.
Sten Mortstedt began his career in 1962 with Svenska Handelsbanken in Stockholm and within three years had formed a property investment partnership. In 1968 he was appointed Managing Director of the Mortstedt family property company, Citadellet AB, which was floated on the Stock Exchange in Stockholm in 1981. The company was sold in 1985 for a price five times higher than the introduction price and was at that time the largest property deal recorded in Scandinavia. Since 1977 he has been involved in establishing and running property interests in the UK, Sweden and France.
Mortstedt established CLS in 1987 after more than 25 years in property. Since 1987, Sten Mortstedt dedicated himself to CLS and he took the company to a listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 1994.
The FTSE 250 company has today a £2.1 billion commercial property portfolio in the UK, Germany and France.
The Sten Mortstedt Family and Charity Trust (the Trust), which owns 51.46% of the company, has assured the Board that it remains committed to CLS, and will continue to be represented on the Board by Anna Seeley, Non-Executive Vice Chair.
“Sten was a remarkable businessman and friend, and delivered significant long-term value for all our shareholders. He will be deeply missed by everyone at CLS and our thoughts are with his family,” said Lennart Sten, Chairman of CLS.
“This is truly a sad day for our family and we will miss him dearly. My Father was an inspirational man whose legacy will live on through the businesses he created, and the charities he supported. The Trust will continue to support CLS, which it believes has a strong leadership team in place to deliver significant long-term value for CLS’s shareholders,” commented Anna Seeley, Non-Executive Vice Chair of CLS and Board member of the Trust.
