IVG sells two properties in London and Helsinki

IVG Investment has said it sold the modern office property at 131 Finsbury Pavement in London to the Luxembourg investment company Orion Capital Partners for £45.5 mln (EUR 52.69 mln).

The acquisition was carried out on behalf of Orion Income Return Partners Fund. IVG said Its the initial return of 7% corresponded to the current prime yield in the City of London. Jones Lang LaSalle acted as consultant for IVG in this transaction.

IVG had purchased the office 7,300m² building in the heart of the financial quarter of London at the end of 2006 as part of the Paneuropa portfolio. The main tenant - whose contract runs until March 2017 - is OMX Technology AB, a subsidiary of the Swedish stock exchange company which has sub-let most of the property over the short term. Michells & Butler Retail Ltd. is to operate a well-known wine bar on the ground floor under a rental contract which will run until 31 July 2049. The building is fully let.

IVG noted that the London investment market for commercial property is showing signs of improvement for the first time in almost two years. An example of this, IVG said, is that Jones Lang LaSalle reported a roughly 50% increase in demand from the first to the second quarter of 2009 to approximately £1.3 bn. Jones Lang LaSalle expects to see further revival of demand - particularly from abroad.

Separately, IVG reported that its Finnish unit, IVG Polar, had sold an office property in Helsinki to Scandinavian investment company CapMan (CapMan Real Estate I Fund). The 7-storey building with its 6,700 m² and 134 parking places at Munkkiniemen Liiketalo 25 is let to ten companies. The main tenants are GOExcellent CSH Finland and Tuokko. The IVG-transaction was supported by Catella.

The building dates from 1973 and underwent substantially refurbishment and modernisation between 1997-1999.