Finland’s Ilmarinen Pension Insurance Company has bought an office building in Washington DC in a joint venture with a private equity firm.

The Nordic institutional investor teamed up with Tamares to buy 7950 Jones Branch Drive for $270m (€240m).

The 800,000sqft building was built in 2001 by Hines.

The deal comes six months after Ilmarinen revealed it was investing in US housing in joint venture with Aalto Invest. In 2013, it said it would increase its exposure to US real estate.

The €36.4bn Ilmarinen has some €3.5bn in real estate investments, mostly in its domestic market.

Tamares, led by investor and philanthropist Poju Zabludowicz, invests in a number of markets including US and European real estate.

“Tamares has been active in Washington, DC area real estate for over 30 years,” said Zabludowicz.

“This state-of-the-art-facility is one of the keystone properties in Northern Virginia and greater Washington, DC.”

The building features two glass wrapped office towers, conference centre, auditorium, cafeteria, executive dining rooms, helipad and sports centre.

The building was previously owned by TEGNA and served as its headquarters. The company has signed an 18-month lease to occupy 20% of the building.

Gannett Co, parent of USA Today, has signed a 12-year lease with Tamares to remain in the building.

CBRE, which brokered the deal, is working to bring in new tenants.

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