Petter Stordalen

Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand (born 29 November 1962) is a Norwegian businessman.

With an estimated net worth of $1 billion as of 2023, he is the owner of the Strawberry Group, a conglomerate of 10 companies in hotels, shopping centers, real estate, finance, and art.

Through Strawberry Hospitality Group, he owns Nordic Choice Hotels, consisting of over 200 hotels and 17,000 employees.

Petter Anker Stordalen Bjorvand was born in Porsgrunn on 29 November 1962, the son of Kari and Knut Anker Stordalen (1933–1994).

At the age of 10, he began helping in his father's grocery store.

At the age of 12, he began selling strawberries at the local market.

He already displayed his business acumen at this time; in 1974, the local Porsgrunns Dagblad newspaper named him Norway's top strawberry seller, beating out his competition of market workers who were decades older than him.

Following high school, he attended Kjøpmannsinstituttet for one year, then managed his father's store for a short time before joining the Norwegian School of Marketing.

At 24 he took over what was, at the time, the largest shopping center in Norway, City Syd, in Trondheim as the country's youngest shopping center manager.

After posting record profits at City Syd he became property director in Atle Brynestad's company Made in.

As property director Stordalen was the architect behind the conversion of the former market area in downtown Trondheim and the re-launch of Liertoppen shopping centre outside Oslo.

He was also put in charge of the Bik Bok brand

Following a number of transactions within the Brynestad system Stordalen, at the age of 29, found himself an employee of Realkreditt's (later DnB) property development company.

Together with a group of investors Stordalen bought the historical department store Steen & Strøm in downtown Oslo.

The group recouped their investment of NOK 20 million in the first five days of the reopening.

The purchase of Steen & Strøm signaled the start of a wave of acquisitions, and in the span of three years the newly formed company, Steen & Strøm Invest, became the country's largest holder of commercial real estate.

The expansion lasted until 1996 when Stordalen had a falling out with the largest shareholder, Stein Erik Hagen, and was asked to leave his position as CEO.

After leaving Steen & Strøm Invest, Stordalen struck out on his own teaming up with investor Christen Sveaas.

In October 1996 the duo bought 68 percent of the shares in the Scandinavian operations of Choice Hotels for NOK 100 million.

At the time the chain consisted of 8 hotels across Scandinavia.

Following the acquisition Stordalen started his expansion, following the same model as in Steen & Strøm Invest, buying Swedish hotel chain Home as well as Norwegian hotel company InterNor, and taking Choice Hotels Scandinavia public.

During a three-year period Choice Hotels Scandinavia bought, on average, a new hotel every other week and added 50 people to the payroll every 10 days.

In December 1997 Sveaas sold his 37 percent share of the now 77 hotels.

In 1999 Christian Ringnes and his company Eiendomsspar acquired a 35 percent share in Choice Hotels Scandinavia.

After a short power struggle, Ringnes folded and Stordalen cemented his control over the company.

The same year Stordalen also saw the acquisition of several Swedish and Danish hotels, including the Danish hotel company Nordisk Hotel Group, Stenungsbaden Yacht Club and Stockholm Globe Hotel.

At the turn of the millennium, at age 37, Stordalen became a billionaire (in Norwegian krone).

In 2000 Stordalen formed the company Home Invest, consisting of the properties previously owned by Choice Hotels Scandinavia.

The company went public, but was delisted in 2001.

In 2003 Choice Hotels Scandinavia bought shares in Swedish property owner and developer Capona.

In 2004 Stordalen's Home Invest sold 19 hotel properties to Capona with settlement in shares giving him a majority interest.

In 2005 Home Invest bought the remaining shares in Choice Hotels Scandinavia and delisted the company.

In 2006 Capona changed name to Home Properties.

In the later stages of his career, Stordalen has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors alongside his wife, the doctor and environmentalist Gunhild Stordalen; through their Stordalen Foundation, established in 2011, they have donated large amounts of money to various scientific research programs and charities focused on addressing climate change.

In 2012 Stordalen opened his biggest hotel to date, the 500-room, 40000 m2 Clarion Post Hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden.

At the opening 10,000 Gothenburgers were gathered to watch a light-and-fireworks display that included Stordalen ascending from the top of the hotel playing the drums inside a 6 x 6 m disco ball.

In 2022, Stordalen opened the 231-room, art-deco Somerro Hotel in Oslo, built from the 1930s office that previously belonged to Oslo Lysverker - the city's electrical company.

The hotel is the first in Oslo to feature a rooftop pool and terrace, and is situated in Frogner, one of Oslo's oldest neighborhoods.

The hotel also features a cinema, multiple restaurants and bars, a library, and a sauna.

He has been a co-owner of SunClass Airlines since 2019.