KanAm Grund Group has acquired Fab9, an office building in Helsinki, from Genesta Property Nordic, for its open-ended real estate investment fund Leading Cities Invest.
The parties agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction.
The office complex is located at Fabianinkatu 9, next to Kasarmitori square in Helsinki’s Kaartinkaupunki city center quarter and offers a floor space of 7,600 square meters.
The Fab9 complex was completed in 1963. Tenants have included a Finnish import and export company, the Helsinki City Museum and a global mineral processing company. Between 2017 and 2021 the building underwent extensive renovations and was rated “BREEAM In-Use Excellent” according to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
The building is almost fully let. One long-term tenant is a well-known law firm, which occupies around 70 percent of the building. There is also a restaurant in the lobby of the building. Further tenants include a state-owned enterprise and a Finnish telecommunications company.
The real estate portfolio of the Leading Cities Invest fund comprises 41 properties, including the new building, at 26 locations in ten countries.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland, and the central government is based in the city. The metropolitan region is of major importance to the country’s economy. Although only 22 percent of the Finnish population lives there, Helsinki is responsible for around 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Since 2017, the demand for property has been highest in the office segment.
In the past five years rents in the center of Helsinki have increased significantly. Under the C-Score Model developed by KanAm Grund Group, Helsinki is classified as a Western European Leading International City and rated as Good for office real estate. The city has a very stable legislative framework and a population of 1.7 million in the metropolitan region. Strong population growth is forecast for the coming years. In terms of sustainability, Helsinki scores highly, among other things, such as affordable public transport prices and low air pollution.
