FINLAND - Finnish pensions insurer OP-Henkivakuutus Oy has acquired two assets - one light industrial, the other a warehouse - from a UK fund for €20.7m, reflecting a yield of 7.5%.

The sale was completed at a price 8% above the assets' March valuation.

A spokeswoman for Tamar European Industrial Fund (TEIF), the seller, said the fund had an ongoing disposal programme that included sales of assets worth €8.8m over the past few months. Although one of those assets was in Sweden, she said there was "nothing significant" about Scandinavian assets being put on the market. Rather, she said, the deal reflected strong demand.

The first asset, located in Vantaa, Helsinki, comprises warehouse, production and office space in a prime logistics area close to the airport.  The second, in Tampere, combines light industrial and office space.

Both are leased to local firm Machinery Oy until 2023. The fund renegotiated the lease in 2008, adding a five-year extension to the Helsinki asset.

"Of course, the very long lease period was the main reason to close this deal," said Markku Mäkiaho, managing director of Pohjola Property Management, which manages the insurer's property portfolio.

"Most of our domestic portfolio is office at the moment, so we wanted to have more weight in logistics and warehousing," he added. "These are very good logistics locations with a solid tenant and a long lease maturity."

OP-Henkivakuutus Oy's €340m real estate allocation makes up 8% of its overall portfolio. Pohjola Property Management manages the insurer's direct investment in its domestic market; international property investments are managed via real estate funds.

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