Madison International Realty has increased its exposure to Norway, buying stakes in an office asset and a retail company.

The New York-based firm said it had increased its interest in the Statoil office complex in Oslo from 35% to 90% for NOK680m (€85m).

A 30% equity stake was sold by Norwegian firm Koksa and a 29.5% interest was sold by individual investors.

The 65,768sqm property is fully-let to Statoil on a 15-year lease. 

Madison has also bought a 50% stake in The High Street Shopping (HSS) company, giving it access to NOK1.5bn of retail properties.

The company will hold the stake in a joint venture with Søylen Property, the majority shareholder and manager of Promenaden Property, in which Madison took a 30% stake last year.

HSS, founded in 2011, will now operate as a 50/50 joint venture between Promenaden and Schage Property.

Derek Jacobson, managing director of European investment, said Madison was attracted to Norway by an increased demand for retail in the luxury sector.

In April, Madison closed its ‘liquidity fund’ with $825m of equity. US public pension funds, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and family offices backed the Real Estate Liquidity Fund V, which is buying into existing ownership structures where owners are looking to either deleverage or sell individual stakes.