Union Investment has purchased a planned timber-framed office building in Helsinki from Finnish construction company SRV for €58 million via a forward funding deal.
The acquisition is being made on behalf of institutional real estate fund UniInstitutional European Real Estate.
Union Investment said it is one of the first projects in Finland to be aligned with the EU taxonomy.
The planned office building is located in the Wood City district of Helsinki’s Jätkäsaari submarket, which has been undergoing development as a residential and office location since 2009. The area is due to be completed by 2030 and will include the city’s new cruise ship terminal. Helsinki’s important office submarket of Ruoholahti is also just 500 metres away and offers a metro connection to the city centre, as well as shopping opportunities.
The seven-storey office building with 6,036 sq m of rental space and 30 parking spaces is scheduled for completion by June 2024. It is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
The building is already fully let on a ten-year lease to IT security firm WithSecure, which intends to make the property its new headquarters.
“The Nordic countries are a vital part of our investment strategy, which is why we have steadily expanded our activities in this region in recent years. The project in the Wood City district meets very high sustainability criteria and is located in an up-and-coming city centre location in Helsinki. It is therefore a perfect fit with our Finnish portfolio, ‘ said Martin Schellein, head of Investment Management Europe at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.
“This project is an excellent example of the project development portfolio we’re developing for investors: stable cash flow, a state-of-the-art HQ building and environmentally friendly construction that also minimises the owner’s carbon footprint over the ownership period. With this transaction, we’re gaining one of Europe’s leading property investment managers, Union Investment, as a new partner. Our aim is to expand our cooperation with both our existing and new investors going forward,” says Tuomas Kokkila, Head of Transactions at SRV.
