South Korean-Finnish consortium which includes Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, NH Investment & Securities (NHIS) and Shinhan Investment Corp. have acquired OP Cooperative’s HQ property in Vallila, Helsinki. The value of the transaction is 480 million euros. OP will continue operating in the property under a long-term lease agreement.
– Long-term stable cash flow suits well into our portfolio in today’s low interest rate environment. The large high-quality asset in the middle of the growing and developing Kalasatama–Pasila axis is in line with our strategy to focus in attractive locations with excellent public transport connections, says Varma’s Head of Real Estate Ilkka Tomperi.
– We are investing into real estate directly and indirectly via funds and JVs. Teaming up with other likeminded investors like NHIS and Shinhan enables us to access a large asset like the Vallila campus. We have used JVs across Europe to invest in office and retail assets like Taunus Turm in Frankfurt and Skärholmen Centrum in Stockholm, continues Ilkka Tomperi.
– Teaming up with well-established and highly regarded local Helsinki-based partners Varma, as an investor, and Avant Asset Management, as an asset manager, provides us with strong local expertise and operating knowledge which will be invaluable for the effective management of the asset on behalf of our capital partners. We look forward to the coming years of partnership, says Danny Kim from Seoul-based AIP Asset Management co-ordinating the South Korean syndicate.
The Vallila property comprises a campus in Helsinki in the address Gebhardinaukio 1. The campus was fully completed in 2017. With a total leasable floor area of 74,150 square metres, the property accommodates approximately 6,000 people. Its tenants are OP and Finnish Tax Administration.
Further information:
Ilkka Tomperi, Investment Director, Real Estate, Varma tel. +358 50 3791903, firstname.lastname@varma.fi
Marjut Tervola, Communications Manager, Varma, tel. +358 45 673 0120, firstname.lastname@varma.fi