Sponda to invest €240m in Tampere’s largest shopping centre

Finnish property firm Sponda has unveiled plans to develop Ratina, the largest shopping centre in Tampere offering a total of 53,000 m2.

Sponda said it plans to pump €240 mln into the project, including some €40 mln already invested. The target development margin is 15% and the estimated yield on cost at completion is 7.5%.

Located in the Ratina district, next to the bus station and Tampere Stadium, the mall will offer over 150 shops across three buildings and 1,250 parking spots. The shopping centre is currently 30% pre-let. Current tenants include K-Supermarket, Lidl, H&M, Fitness24Seven and Tullinkulma Occupational Health Centre.

Construction will begin in April 2015 with excavation work on the new Valo-Ratina building, and the shopping centre is estimated to be completed in spring 2018. Sponda is targeting a BREEAM environmental certificate for the shopping centre.

'The Ratina shopping centre is Sponda’s largest property development project. The decision to move forward with the Ratina shopping centre is big news for the city of Tampere and commerce in the Pirkanmaa region,' said Kari Inkinen, president and CEO of Sponda.