Vend Q1 2026: Real Estate Revenues Jump 13% as AI Unit Announced

Vend, formerly Schibsted Marketplaces, recorded steady Group revenue growth while Real Estate revenues grew by 13% in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, several discontinued, divested operations mean Vend is now a pure marketplace operator in the Nordics.

Highlights include:

• Group revenue hits NOK 1.543Bn (USD 165.9M), up 2% year-on-year
• Real Estate revenues were NOK 341M (USD 36.6M), up 13%
• Real Estate EBITDA was NOK 164M (USD 17.6M), at an EBITDA margin of 48%
• Real Estate Classifieds revenue was NOK 272M (USD 29.2M)
• Professional revenues were NOK 241 (USD 25.9M)
• Private revenues were NOK 31M (USD 3.3M)
• Transactional revenues NOK 48M (USD 5.1 M)
• Advertising revenues NOK 17M (USD 1.8M)

Vend's first quarter showed a big win for the real estate vertical, which is clearly a major growth lever for the Group. The unit posted a 13% revenue rise in constant currency to NOK 341 million and a 30% jump in EBITDA to NOK 164 million, lifting its margin to 48% from 42% a year earlier and drawing level with Mobility's margin of 48%. Real Estate is also performing in line with its respective medium-term target.

The growth came almost entirely from pricing power, as opposed to volume. ARPA in residential for sale in Norway (FINN.no) climbed 19%, despite a 5% drop in Norwegian listings. Transactional revenues rose 20%, supported by the rental platforms Qasa and HomeQ, while advertising income climbed 38%. Finland's switch to a subscription model during the quarter delivered both ARPA and revenue gains.

"Real Estate had a particularly strong quarter, with continued ARPA growth driving both revenue and significant profitability gains," said CEO Christian Printzell Halvorsen.

"In our annual report, I described 2025 as the year Vend took shape as a focused, pure-play Nordic marketplace company. As we move into full-scale execution, I am pleased to report that the first quarter of 2026 demonstrates the strength of the foundation we have built. Group revenues for the quarter ended at NOK 1,543 million, up 2% in constant currency. Revenues across our four verticals grew 10% in constant currency, reflecting broad-based momentum, while Group revenues were impacted by the phase-out of transitional service revenues related to the Schibsted separation. Group EBITDA improved 36% to NOK 563 million, with the margin expanding to 36% from 27% a year ago. This improvement reflects sustained cost discipline combined with positive developments across our verticals. Real Estate had a particularly strong quarter, with continued ARPA growth driving both revenue and significant profitability gains. Jobs delivered solid growth, supported by strong ARPA development and the continued benefits of our pricing and monetisation initiatives."

On product, Vend piloted a conversational search in Norway's Real Estate vertical, letting home seekers query by intent and life context rather than filters. Interestingly, a dedicated AI unit is being spun up to build, in the company's words, a new AI-native marketplace experience separate from its existing product environment.

On 15 January 2026, Vend closed the sale of its trades marketplace portfolio (Mittanbud (Norway), Servicefinder (Sweden), Remppatori (Finland) and 3byggetilbud.dk (Denmark)) to Verdane Fund Manager AB. And on 10 March 2026, Vend completed the divestment of Lendo Group (including Lendo, Compricer, and Mybanker) to Clar Global AB—creating a pure play marketplace operator in doing so.