Translation: Original published in Finnish on 10/21/2026 at 10:30 pm EEST.

Relais' value creation model is based on owning and developing businesses and consolidating the vehicle aftermarket. The company has a good historical track record, and we believe it is well positioned to continue creating value. We see the current valuation as quite reasonable and the business’s risk level as below average. We therefore consider the risk/reward attractive and reiterate our Accumulate recommendation, although we lower our target price to EUR 15.5 (was EUR 17.0) to reflect estimate changes and a slightly higher required return.

Relais operates in the vehicle aftermarket

Relais Group persistently owns and develops companies that operate in the vehicle aftermarket and consolidates the aftermarket through M&A. The Group’s companies currently sell spare parts, lighting, and equipment, and provide commercial vehicle repair and maintenance services. Relais has extensive operations in the Nordics and elsewhere in Northern Europe. Over this decade, it has grown through numerous acquisitions and, we estimate, organically faster than the market. At the core of the Group’s business and value creation model is the reallocation of cash flow from owned businesses into growth – the operating model of a serial consolidator. Over the past ten years, this model has delivered a fairly good return on capital, demonstrating that it works.

Maintenance drives the medium term, growth continues in the long term

Relais' target market grows mainly in line with the growth rate of the vehicle fleet, which we estimate is roughly in line with the economic growth rate in the medium and long term. In the long run, however, we expect the company’s growth to clearly outpace the market as it allocates the cash flows generated by its businesses to aftermarket companies, in line with its operating model. The pace of earnings growth is consequently determined by the number of acquisitions. In the short term, we believe the focus will be on improving the efficiency of current operations and reducing balance sheet leverage. We expect these efficiency measures to lift returns on capital, however, accelerating value creation and laying a better foundation for long-term growth. Over the long run, the company’s value creation is determined by its return on capital, and in Relais’ case this comes down largely to the returns on capital allocated to acquisitions. The key opportunities and risks therefore relate to the quality of the acquisition process.

We believe there is upside in the valuation

According to our forecasts, the adjusted P/E ratios for 2026-2027 are about 11x and 10x, and the corresponding adjusted EV/EBITA multiples are 11x and 9x. This year's valuation multiples do not fully reflect the recent acquisitions, but in our view, the more relevant next year's multiples are moderate for Relais' current businesses. In relative terms, Relais is valued at a discount to the peer companies operating similar businesses, while relative to the peer group of serial consolidators the share is valued at a clear discount. In our opinion, Relais' justified valuation level is somewhere in between these peer groups, so the valuation of the share is attractive in absolute and relative terms. This valuation is also supported by the cash flow model at EUR 15.8, which is above the current share price. Reflecting the valuation, Relais' historical evidence of capital allocation, and the business risk profile, we consider the stock's risk/return ratio attractive.