Pembroke buys 190,000 m[sup]2[/sup] portfolio in Nordic capitals

Pembroke Real Estate announced on Thursday that it has acquired a 190,000 m² portfolio of twelve office/retail buildings located in main business districts of Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki. The primary tenant is Nordea Bank. These acquisitions are Pembroke's first in the Nordic region.

The properties in Stockholm, Sweden, comprising approximately 90,000 m2, are located near Kungstradgarden and Sergels Torg within the prime office and retail areas of Stockholm's Central Business District (CBD). The assets in Oslo, Norway, comprising 40,000 m2, are located in Oslo's Majorstuen district. The properties in Helsinki, Finland total 60,000 m² and are located in Helsinki's Vallila district.

'The Nordic economies have outperformed the European average over the last several years, and the performance of these capital cities have been important drivers of their growth,' said Johannes Haug, Pembroke senior vice president and managing director for Europe. 'Over the long-term, we believe globally-competitive industries in these countries will provide opportunity for sustained growth in these real estate markets.'

In addition to this portfolio acquisition, Pembroke has acquired eight properties during the past 18 months, including two Paris buildings located at 46 Avenue Kléber and 61 Rue Monceau in September-October 2007.

The portfolio's concentration in the Stockholm CBD was cited as a key factor in the acquisition. 'With attractive demographics and a high concentration of knowledge-based industries such as information technology, biotechnology and financial services, the Stockholm region has the potential to achieve long-term economic growth,' said Haug. 'Combined with a naturally supply-constrained CBD and a transparent investment market, acquisitions in Stockholm provide us with a compelling opportunity to add geographic and economic diversification to our global portfolio.'

Pembroke Real Estate, which is the real estate investment and development advisor for Fidelity Investments and FIL Limited, said that the properties are earmarked for FIL Limited. Pembroke RE acted as advisor in the transaction and was assisted by Ernst & Young and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

Pembroke currently manages more than 5 million sq ft (500,000 m2) of commercial and residential space in London, Tokyo, Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, Boston and Washington, D.C.