Skanska sells Stockholm office for €68m

Skanska has sold the Chokladfabriken (Eken 6) office property in Stockholm, Sweden, to Andersson Real Estate Investment Management (Areim) for about SEK 600 mln (€68 mln).

In a statement, Skanska said the transfer of the property will also take place in the first quarter 2014.

Built as a chocolate factory in 1917, the asset has since been rebuilt and currently provides 27,000 m2 of space with an occupancy rate of 65%. Major tenants include ST1, OBH Nordica, Kronofogdemyndigheten, Semper and Kommunal.

'The Chokladfabriken is a great property that we have owned for a long time. Now the time was right for us to use the capital tied in the property to invest in new projects,' said Caroline Arehult, managing director of Skanska Property Stockholm.

The acquisition is the second completed by Areim this week. Areim's Fund II also bought the Trygg-Hansas office complex at Fleminggatan in Stockholm from owner-occupier, insurance group Trygg-Hansa.

Although financial details were not disclosed, the asset is estimated to be worth around SEK 2.4 bn (€272 mln). Trygg-Hansa is leasing back the asset and will remain on as a tenant for a term of at least five years.

Colliers International and law firm Vinge advised the vendor in the transaction.