Invest in a bright future The world was still reeling from the doom and gloom of the recession in 2009, when Anders Marcus and Peter Krogsgaard Jørgensen saw the light: investors like themselves were looking for safe and reliable investment opportunities, and what could be more reliable than the sun? The sun, as Annie assures us, will, after all, come out tomorrow. A decade later, their company Obton and its 2,500 investors have made a large and positive impact, setting up and managing solar cell farms across Europe and securing a steady return on investment year on year.
pertise as the sector itself grew, and today, we’re big and experienced enough to have influenced the industry on an international scale,” Marcus continues. “No one single private investor would
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: PR Foto
2018 became the best year yet for the Obton Group, which saw pre-tax profits rise to 19.5 million euros. Obton, which is Denmark’s largest and oldest solar asset owner, also rose six places to become the 11th largest in Europe. “We were lucky to get into the market at just the right time,” says CEO Anders Marcus. “Back in 2009, we were just at the brink of sustainable energy really taking off and becoming big business. 108 | Issue 128 | September 2019
We knew next to nothing of the industry at the time, and in truth, solar energy investment wasn’t even a field yet – we had to employ experts from the wind industry who then had to convert their knowledge to fit the solar sector.”
Regular, reliable ROI Such an early start meant, however, that Obton also got to shape part of the industry. “We gained experience and ex-
Anders Marcus.