Lithuanian real estate investment manager Lords LB Asset Management has announced plans to invest more than €200 mln in a major office development in the Latvian capital Riga, its first project outside Lithuania.
The Lords LB Special Fund V will use the funds to redevelop the former press chamber in Riga that was recently acquired for €16.8 mln from the Latvian Shipping Company.
The resulting scheme will be the largest office development in the Baltics, initiating the company’s expansion in the region.
'With consistent growth of our funds’ assets, we are searching for new investment directions. The project in Riga is one of the first steps in expansion of our real estate investments’ geography. This is our first commercial real estate development investment outside Lithuania,' concluded Domas Kacinskas, CEO at Lords LB Asset Management.
The project will be led by Aivaras Abromavicius, a former partner at East Capital.
'I have been investing in Latvia since 1996, when I worked at Hansabank, so I know the market very well. Currently Latvia’s economy is among the EU’s most rapidly developing therefore we see perfect opportunities on the Class A office space market,' said Abromavicius, chairman of the supervisory board of this project.
The asset was purchased by Lords LB Special Fund V, which has a focus on Latvia. The fund’s initial size is €20 mln, with a maximum cap of €40 mln. The fund will be active for at least eight years, and will invest more than €200 mln into the project development.
Licensed and supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, Lords LB Asset Management currently manages 14 funds, of which nine invest in real estate. During the last three years, assets managed by Lords LB grew from €158 mln to more than €320 mln.
