Genesta’s New Fund Acquires Two Prime Office Properties in the Helsinki City Center
Genesta’s new fund, Genesta Nordic Real Estate Fund II (GNRE Fund II), has acquired two prime office property assets, Antinkatu 1 and Bulevardi 21, in the city center of Helsinki from Senate Properties. The total purchase price of the assets is EUR 36.3 million.
Antinkatu 1 and Bulevardi 21
Antinkatu 1 offers some 11,200 sqm of lettable office space and is located in the Kamppi district, just 100 meters from the Kamppi Shopping Center and Metro Station. The building was constructed in 1952 for the purpose of housing the Finnish state printing house and was later refurbished and developed for office use. The National Audit Office and TE-Services are currently the main tenants at Antinkatu.
Bulevardi 21 meanwhile offers some 10,100 sqm of lettable space and is located on one of Helsinki’s most attractive and well-known streets, neighboured by high quality cafés and restaurants. The property at Bulevardi 21 was constructed in 1961 as an office building for the Finnish state including the Local Registrar Office which currently occupies several floors in the building.
“The properties fit perfectly into the investment strategy of Genesta’s new fund. Both assets have excellent locations and offer interesting renovation and leasing opportunities,” comments Genesta’s CEO David Neil.
Managing director of Senate Properties Jari Sarjo is satisfied to have concluded the sale. ”This divestment supports Finnish Government's real-estate property and premises strategy, according to which we aim to release the equity tied in properties located in the most valuable addresses in city centres, to allocate equity in the core operations of the Government,” he says.
According to Finnish legislation, the transaction requires the approval of Finland’s parliament, and this is expected by the end of 2015.
GNRE Fund II
The acquisition of these assets is a perfect fit with GNRE Fund II’s strategy of providing institutional investors with exposure to value-add office property investments in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo. The fund also invests in retail and logistics properties in large metropolitan areas in the Nordic region. This is the first acquisition on behalf of GNRE Fund II which just recently had its first close in an amount of EUR 152 million of commitments from four institutional investors. It is targeting a total of EUR 350−400 million in equity capital.