Helsinki-based pension fund Ilmarinen is selling 1,200 apartments to a domestic property fund in one of the largest residential property transactions in Finnish history.

Helsinki-based pension fund Ilmarinen is selling 1,200 apartments to a domestic property fund in one of the largest residential property transactions in Finnish history.

The buyer is OP-Rental Yield, a €500 mln fund managed by Finnish financial services giant OP-Pohjola Group. The fund now owns 2,550 residential units in Finland.

The financial details of the transaction agreed at the start of June were not disclosed.

The portfolio comprises 28 residential properties and ancillary retail space. Almost all properties were built in the 1990s or 2000s, and are located in 15 municipalities. Approximately 95% of the portfolio cash flow is generated from regional growth centres and university cities, such as Helsinki, Turku, Kuopio, Jyväskylä and Oulu.

Advium Corporate Finance acted as Ilmarinen’s financial adviser in the transaction.

Ilmarinen manages €37 bn of investment assets to support the pension plans of 900,000 people in Finland. It's €3.6 bn real estate portfolio makes it one of the largest property players in the country. Tomi Aimosen, head of real estate at the pension fund, said that the divestment made room in the property portfolio for new domestic residential investments.