Shopping centers At 24, he took over what was, at the time, the largest
shopping center in Norway,
City Syd,
Trondheim. After posting record profits at City Syd, he became property director in the company Made in. Stordalen was the architect of the conversion of the market area in downtown Trondheim and the re-launch of the Liertoppen shopping centre outside Oslo. He was also put in charge of the Bik Bok brand. Following transactions within the Brynestad system Stordalen, at the age of 29, he was an employee of
Realkreditt's (later DnB)
property development company. In the span of three years, the company, Steen & Strøm Invest, became the country's largest holder of
commercial real estate.
Hotels After leaving Steen & Strøm Invest, Stordalen teamed up with investor
Christen Sveaas. In October 1996, the duo bought 68 percent of the shares of
Choice Hotels for . Stordalen bought Swedish hotel chain Home as well as Norwegian hotel company InterNor and took 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. Ringnes folded. The same year, Stordalen also acquired the Danish hotel company Nordisk Hotel Group, Stenungsbaden Yacht Club, and
Stockholm Globe Hotel. At age 37, Stordalen became a
billionaire (in
Norwegian krone). In 2012, Stordalen opened a hotel, Clarion Post Hotel, with 500 rooms and covered an area of in
Gothenburg, Sweden. At the opening, 10,000 people were gathered to watch a light-and-
fireworks display that included Stordalen ascending from the top of the hotel playing the drums inside a
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 hotel featured a rooftop pool and terrace and is situated in Frogner.
Public to private company 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 a settlement in shares. In 2006, Capona changed its name to Home Properties. In 2005, Home Invest bought the remaining shares in Choice Hotels Scandinavia and delisted the company. In 2006, Home Properties
spun off Home Capital as an
investment company and listed it on the
First North Stock Exchange in Stockholm. In 2007, Stordalen's Home Invest acquired all the shares in Home Capital and delisted the company. In 2009, Stordalen did the same with Home Properties. In 2019, Nordic Choice Hotels acquired Kämp Collection Hotels. ==Investments==