(Bloomberg) -- Some shareholders in struggling Swedish landlord SBB took the opportunity to air their disappointment at an annual general meeting while backing the board’s proposals, including selecting a new independent chairman for the company.

All proposals by the board of directors were approved at the gathering in Stockholm, some without a vote, providing a ray of light for Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB. The property owner is struggling to emerge from a turbulent period in which higher interest rates made its $5.6 billion debt pile unmanageable, leading to multiple downgrades of its credit ratings and a more than 90% price drop in the shares from the peak in late 2021.

Among shareholders blasting the company leadership for mismanagement was Sverre Linton of Aktiespararna, which represents about 70,000 retail investors. He likened the property firm to Titanic, the famous passenger vessel that sank a century ago on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg.

“Barely two years ago, the then-CEO promised 100 years of success and increased dividends for SBB. Just like Titanic, SBB was depicted as practically unsinkable,” Linton, the association’s chief legal officer, said. Shareholders “like the passengers of the Titanic, might be wishing that they had been the ones left behind on the docks.”

Still, the overall atmosphere at the meeting was forward looking. Among the measures passed on Friday was a resolution to discharge members of the board of directors and the current and former chief executives from liability — shielding them from future legal actions regarding conduct over the last fiscal year. That was approved with an overwhelming majority. Shareholders also installed Lennart Sten as new chairman and reelected board members, including ousted chief executive officer Ilija Batljan.

Sten, a lawyer by education, has spent most of his career in the property business. He was until last year the chief executive officer of LSTH Svenska Handelsfastigheter AB, a company he co-founded. His earlier roles include helming the European operations of GE Real Estate and the job of CEO at Fabege AB. Sten has also chaired the Swedish Property Federation and is independent of SBB and its major shareholders.

Influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. had advised shareholders to not support reelection of three existing board members, among them Batljan, as well as the election of Sten as the new chairman.

SBB was the poster-child of Swedish property companies that used the era of low rates to fuel aggressive debt-financed growth. That strategy backfired when surging inflation prompted central banks to tighten policy at a fast pace. Last year, company founder Batljan was replaced as CEO by Leiv Synnes.

To SBB, the new reality has meant it has been rushing to address its now much higher financing costs and a heavy debt burden by selling properties, restructuring the business and through various refinancing initiatives. It’s splitting the business into three units, which includes an initial public offering of its entire residential portfolio. 

It has also closed a string of transactions with Castlelake LP, Morgan Stanley and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd, which allow it to shift properties off its books in return for cash.

Other obstacles remain. The company will no later than January be in court to face hedge fund Fir Tree Partners, which is claiming a breach of debt terms and wants its money back.

--With assistance from Christian Wienberg, Stephen Treloar and Alastair Reed.

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