AXA Real Estate Investment Managers SGP, an affiliate of AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, announced that it has agreed to acquire the Blåfjäll 1, prime office building in Kista, Stockholm, on behalf of The French public service additional pension scheme (“ERAFP”)2, from Niam, a leading private equity real estate firm in Northern Europe, for a consideration of SEK 546 million (approx. €60.4 million).
The transaction is demonstrative of AXA Real Estate’s intention to further expand its asset management platform in Sweden in order to access the country's large, liquid and transparent real estate investment market and strong economic fundamentals.
The 18,728 m² property, situated in the northwest of central Stockholm, is currently fully let, to a world leading communications technology and services business, on a recently renegotiated long term lease, having undergone significant modernization to upgrade its facilities, and is located next to its global headquarters.
The building has high technical standards and is due to be awarded Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (‘LEED’) Silver certification, which is a globally recognized green building certification that acknowledges best-in-class energy and environmental strategies and practices.
A key element of the pan-European investment mandate from ERAFP, which AXA Real Estate was awarded in July last year, is to adhere to specific Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) guidelines. Blåfjäll 1 directly adheres to these guidelines and enables AXA Real Estate to continue to develop and improve the SRI rating of the asset through an active asset management policy.
Anne Schwartz, Senior Fund Manager at AXA Real Estate, commented: “By successfully aligning AXA Real Estate’s commitment to sustainable investment with the stated strategy of ERAFP’s mandate and by utilizing our experienced on-the-ground team, we have been able to acquire a prime office building with very strong SRI principles that is well let and able to deliver stable long term income.”
Henrik Bastman, Head of Asset Management in the Nordic Region at AXA Real Estate, commented: “The Nordic Region has robust economic fundamentals which have proved their resilience in recent years. We intend to both grow our asset management platform in the region and to deploy further capital into its highly transparent and well established real estate market to create value on behalf of our clients.”
Source: AXA Real Estate
