Finnish pensions insurance company Elo Mutual has linked up with Swedish national pensions buffer fund AP1 and local property firm Trevian Asset Management to invest more than €400m in commercial real estate in Finnish cities outside the Helsinki area.
The newly-established property company will start with a portfolio of around €160m, but will have significant resources for further investments, enabling it to grow the portfolio to more than €400m in asset value, Elo said.
The joint venture will focus on commercial real estate – primarily city centre retail and office properties within major cities with good growth prospects – mainly outside Helsinki area, it said
Johan Temse, investment manager at AP1, said: “Finland is an interesting market for real estate investments with a positive urban development for larger cities outside the Helsinki area.”
He said AP1 was also pleased to enter into a cooperation with an investor like Elo, which shared AP1’s long-term perspective, and a professional asset manager such as Trevian.
Antti Muilu, head of domestic real estate at Elo, said the aim was to create a company that provided commercial premises in the best locations within cities which had solid growth potential.
“Future investments also support the aim of keeping city centres attractive and lively, which is important for the whole of society,” he said.
Trevian will be responsible for the joint venture’s management and deal sourcing.
The establishment of the joint venture is subject to the approval of the competition authorities.
