Warburg-HIH Invest has announced the acquisition of an office building in Krakow, Poland and the sale of Unilever's Finnish headquarters in Helsinki.
In Krakow, the company has bought the Aleja Pokoju 5 office scheme on behalf of an institutional investor from Polish property developer Grupa Buma. Financial details were not disclosed.
Completed in 2016, the asset is located in the new Central Business District close to the historic town centre of Krakow and provides 13,700 m2 of gross lettable space over nine storeys as well as 190 parking spots.
The multi-tenant property is currently occupied by 13 different tenants, and shows an occupancy of 83%, with an average remaining lease term of six years.
In Helsinki, Warburg-HIH Invest has divested a landmark office building to eQ Finnish Real Estate, a Finnish special investment fund managed by eQ Asset Management. The purchase price amounted to €21 mln.
Designed by the famous Finnish architect Ole Gripenberg, the building was completed in 1940 as the head office for Oy Volvo Auto and was later owned and occupied by Kone Corporation. In 2006-2007 the building underwent a significant modernization and it was converted into multi-let office use. Today, the property serves as the head office of Unilever Finland. Other tenants include Posti and Rastor.
The building offers a total leasable area of 8,398 m2 over four floors above ground.
'We took advantage of the very positive market development and sold the asset which was bought at the peak in the last cycle in 2007 for a good price. Inversely, eQ Finnish Real Estate may count on the prime location and prestigious tenants,' says Axel Kleinefenn, head of Fund Management for Warburg-HIH Invest.
CBRE acted as a commercial advisor for the seller in the transaction, while Roschier, Attorneys provided legal advice. Avance Attorneys acted as the legal advisor for the buyer.
