Anders Hultin runs the school group Watma.

He has been involved in the independent school industry from the beginning, when he, as a moderate official in the government office, helped design the independent school reform during the Bildtregeringen in the 1990s.

But he became an entrepreneur in 2013 when, as CEO, he bankrupted the John Bauer Group and then bought out four of the schools from the bankruptcy estate.  

Since then, the group has expanded greatly with, among other things, the primary school chain Nordic International School.

Bought a waffle house in Åre

The group also includes the subsidiary Nordic Leisure, which bought a waffle house in Åre in September 2020. SVT's review shows that it was done with the help of group contributions from school operations. 

A total of SEK 20 million has gone into group contributions from the educational operations to the parent company in the past three years.

Some of the money has since passed on to Nordic Leisure.

In total, Nordic Leisure has received SEK 2.8 million.

The company bought the waffle house for 5.2 million. 

- I think this type of transaction is questionable.

The school money must go to school activities, that is the very basis, says Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L). 

Anders Hultin does not want to be interviewed by SVT, but writes in a comment that "the profit that arises in a company after costs have been deducted is disposed of by the owner or reinvested in the business."

Bought lots in the archipelago

Another school entrepreneur, Per Egon Johansson, also has a background in the government office during the Bildtregeringen, as Christian Democratic state secretary.

He runs the Raoul Wallenberg schools in the company Almwik. 

SVT's investigation shows that he has let the school group buy plots from him for SEK 3 million on Blidö in the Stockholm archipelago.

The plots are located next to his own country house.

He bought the entire area in 2001. SVT finds the plots in the group's subsidiary Almwik Fastigheter.

He sold the first one there in 2014. He has since sold two more plots. 

- School money has not been part of this, says Per Egon Johansson.

"Doesn't matter"

But SVT's investigation shows that the property company also owns a school property in Skövde.

So one of the school operations in the group has paid rent to the property company, for part of the school money. 

- That is correct.

But rent must still be paid by a business.

And it probably doesn't matter where that rent goes, if I choose to let that rent go into a real estate company that I own, it doesn't matter to the business that is being conducted, says Per Egon Johansson. 

But wouldn't it have been better if that money went back into the school again instead of these archipelago plots? 

- But it wouldn't have mattered for the sake of the business, says Per Egon Johansson.  

But you still made 3 million from this? 

- I have received a private income of SEK 3 million, that is absolutely correct, and I have used that by developing, so to speak, the business that is out there on Blidö, says Per Egon Johansson.

Do you know more?

Here you can tip SVT Nyheter's investigative reporters