EUROPE – Swedish local government pension fund KPA Pension is buying three residential rental properties in the Stockholm area for SEK667m (€77m) from Nordic property firm NCC.

The SEK90bn pension fund said it agreed to buy three properties and a site leasehold, totalling 330 rental apartments in the municipalities of Stockholm, Sundbyberg and Järfälla.

Lars-Åke Vikberg, chief executive at KPA Pension, said: "We are continuing to invest in attractive properties that are secure long-term investments providing stable returns for our pension savers."

In all, the three properties contain 20,418m2 of space.

KPA Pension said there was a shortage of rental apartments in Stockholm and added that demand in the capital region was high.

The areas of Ursvik and Barkarby were interesting areas for development, it said.

NCC said it was selling the properties as part of its long-term focus on developing and building rental apartments.

The deal takes the form of a company transaction on a forward-funding basis, with the purchase sum paid gradually from the first date of access until the project is finished.

The properties, situated in Aspudden (Stockholm), Ursvik (Sundbyberg) and Barkarby (Järfälla), are at different stages of completion.

The Barkarby apartments are finished and occupied, but the project in Aspudden is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, PensionDanmark has bought a 15,400m2 office building in Greater Copenhagen for DKK306m (€41m) from NCC, which the Nordic real estate firm will use at its headquarters.

The building – Gladsaxe Company House – is located in Gladsaxe on the outskirts of Copenhagen and will be ready for occupation in 2015.

Torben Möger Pedersen, managing director of labour-market fund PensionDanmark, said: "The investment will give a good and stable return for our members."

He said the property was well-located, environmentally friendly and flexible, with low maintenance costs.

"These are characteristics that fit in well with our overall plans for real estate," Möger Pedersen said.

NCC said this deal was also a forward-funding transaction, and had a base purchase consideration of SEK353m.

NCC would be responsible for the leasing the remaining vacant office space for five years after completion and had given a rental guarantee for this period, it said.

The company said that leasing the remaining space could generate up to SEK22m.

PensionDanmark said the office project would be classified as gold under the DGNB environmental, social and economic sustainability certification system – the highest level.

Construction work will start this month, with PensionDanmark taking over the property in January 2015 – just before the building is ready for occupation in February 2015.

The pension fund said it invested around 7% of its assets, or DKK10bn, in residential and commercial property in Denmark, and aimed to increase this by DKK2bn to 10% of assets by 2015.

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