Erik Paulsson was one of Sweden’s foremost entrepreneurs and businessmen, with an active professional life spanning seven decades. He played a key role in the creation of several major companies, including Backahill, Peab and Skistar, and built a nationwide real estate enterprise, making him one of the most influential figures in the Swedish property sector for more than 20 years.

Erik Paulsson grew up on the family farm Ängsgården in the village of Ängelsbäck in Grevie, on the Bjäre Peninsula. Even at a young age, he demonstrated strong entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen. As a teenager, together with his brother Mats, he managed waste collection for summer residents and neighbours in their local area, and in 1959 they founded Bröderna Paulssons Entreprenad, which later became Peab.

In 1993, Erik Paulsson moved to Stockholm to oversee the restructuring of BPA, which Peab had acquired, marking the start of his journey into the property sector. His drive and straightforward business approach quickly made him one of the key figures in the Swedish real estate industry. He initiated numerous ventures that resulted in the creation or transformation of several publicly listed property companies such as Fabege, Wihlborgs, Diös, Catena and Brinova, in which he was an active and engaged major shareholder.

Although Erik Paulsson spent more than 20 years of his career in Stockholm, his affection and commitment to his home region in northwestern Skåne never waned. In 1998, he founded the family-owned company Backahill AB to manage his private business interests.

The family’s entrepreneurial drive and passion for business quickly made Backahill one of the leading property companies in Ängelholm and the Bjäre Peninsula. Through Backahill, Erik Paulsson was also involved in numerous local initiatives and projects, such as the renovation and restoration of the tennis facilities in Båstad, the hotel and the traditional Swedish Open tournament, Hotel Riviera Strand, and the Norrviken Gardens.

In recent years, Erik Paulsson gradually stepped back from active business life, and in the autumn of 2022, succession was completed when his two children, Sara Karlsson and Svante Paulsson, took full ownership of the Backahill Group.

“Erik Paulsson was among the very foremost in Swedish business – a great entrepreneur and businessman who, for more than 60 years, created so much and meant so much to so many. His drive and integrity in business have served as an inspiration for new generations of entrepreneurs, and through Backahill he gave back enormously to his home region. Erik had a big heart and was generous in both word and deed. Today is a day of sorrow,” says Lennart Mauritzson, CEO of Backahill AB.

“Erik Paulsson had his heart in the right place. Even though much of his life revolved around business, family was always important to him. Our thoughts now go to his closest loved ones – his children, Sara Karlsson and Svante Paulsson, with their families, and his wife, Lena,” the company writes in its press release.