German investment manager Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate has acquired Next, an office development project in the Helsinki metropolitan area, from NCC Property Development.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The property was purchased as part of a forward-funding agreement and will be included in an individual fund. With a gross leasable area of around 9,200 m2, the nine-storey, single-tenant property has been fully let for 12 years to Fiskars Group as its new corporate headquarters.
Matthias Brodesser, head of transaction management international at Warburg-HIH Invest, said: 'We look forward to being active in Finland again with the Fiskars Global HQ.
'During the coronavirus pandemic, the Nordic real estate markets have showcased their role as an anchor of stability in Europe and are accordingly in demand amongst our investors. As a result, we are continuing the expansion into the Scandinavian markets that we envisioned even before Covid-19.'
The new office building is located in Espoo, the second-largest city in Finland and part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Completion is scheduled for late 2021.
The property is targeting Breeam Excellent certification, with nearly CO2-neutral heat energy and cooling provided by a local combined heat and power generation system, as well as an on-site photovoltaic system. It has 125 bicycle parking spaces and 141 car parking spaces, 30 of which feature charging stations for electric vehicles.
'The office development project Next is located in a district in which 50% of all companies listed on the Finnish stock exchange are based today – one that will continue evolving dynamically into a mixed-use quarter in the years ahead. We were able to acquire the fully let project development under good terms at an early stage,' Brodesser added.
'In Keilaniemi Next, we have worked closely together with all parties to develop an office project with a modern and sustainable working environment. Warburg-HIH Invest has chosen this project as its first investment coming back to Finland and we are very excited about our collaboration,' said Petri Bergström, head of NCC Property Development Finland.
Law firm Roschier provided legal due diligence services to the buyer, with Ramboll providing technical due diligence. EY oversaw tax and financial due diligence. CBRE provided the economic due diligence support and will continue to be involved in the project by providing ongoing construction monitoring.
