Genesta sells Helsinki office building to Schroders for €60m

Nordic fund manager Genesta has sold an office building in Helsinki to a German fund managed by Schroder Real Estate for €60 mln.

Vilhonvuorenkatu 11 is an office and light industry property in the Sörnäinen area, about 3 kilometres north of the Finnish capital's central business district.

The 24,100 m2 property has undergone large-scale renovation and consists of largely modern loft office premises and standard high-quality office premises. Genesta has increased the property’s net operating income by 98% during the holding period, mainly by refurbishing the property and by renegotiating leases.

'The divestment of Vilhonvuorenkatu 11 is the fifth divestment on behalf of GNBRE and the fund has now successfully divested €290 mln over a period of one year. Genesta has now returned 80% of the fund equity back to investors,' commented Genesta’s CEO David Neil.

Genesta’s new fund, Genesta Nordic Real Estate Fund II (GNRE Fund II), has also completed the acquisition of Antinkatu 1 and Bulevardi 21 in Helsinki city center from Senate Properties. The acquisition was signed in June 2015 and was pending the Parliament of Finland’s approval.

GNRE Fund II has €192 mln of commitments from five institutional investors. It is targeting a total of €350 mln in capital. The fund is actively looking for new value-add property investments in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo.

Advium Corporate Finance advised Genesta in the divestment of Vilhonvuorenkatu 11.

Separately, Immobilien Europa Direkt, which is part of Zurich Investment Foundation and managed by Schroders, acquired an office building in Helsinki CBD. The investment volume was not disclosed.

The property is located at Unioninkatu 30 and is currently fully let to SEB bank. The tenant is moving to another premises in 2017 which will call for re-letting and development of the asset in the near future.

And, Advium also advised NV Property Fund I Ky in the sale of a healthcare and office property in Helsinki to the Swedish listed property investment company Hemfosa Fastigheter. The €54 mln acquisition was Hemfosa’s first in Finland. The 20,000 m2 property is fully let to a single tenant with a long-term lease agreement.

This was the 12th transaction Advium’s advised on during 2015, bringing its total volume to more than €1.2 bn.


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