Who are the men who bought Inno? A portrait of the Viking raider and the man with the rose Rolls-Royce

Belgian department store chain Inno has found new owners, after a lengthy search. CEO Armin Devender and his management remain on board, but it is already clear that the acquirers have their own clear vision for the future. They already have plans to expand Inno into more cities and launch a new store concept.

Only ‘home’ for two months

Icelandic investment company SKEL (with chairman Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson) and Axcent of Scandinavia (owned by Swede Ayad Al-Saffar) buy Inno together, splitting the shares equally. Both are active investors with a long history in retail, but who are they and what can Inno expect?