Warburg-HIH Invest has acquired Next, an office development project in the Helsinki metropolitan area, from NCC Property Development. The property was purchased as part of a forward funding agreement and will be included in an individual fund. With a gross leasable area (GLA) of roughly 9,200m², the nine-storey single-tenant property has 125 bicycle parking spaces and 141 car parking spaces, 30 of which feature charging stations for electric vehicles. The building has been fully let for twelve years to Fiskars Group for its new corporate headquarters.
The new office building is located in Espoo, the second-largest city in Finland and part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Completion is scheduled for late 2021. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. It is planned that the property will obtain BREEAM Excellent certification, with nearly CO2-neutral heat energy and cooling provided by a local combined heat and power generation system, as well as an on-site photovoltaic system. The property is well connected to the public transport network and major roads. The Keilaniemi Metro station is less than a one-minute walk, with the motorway towards the city centre and airport two minutes away by car. A new tram station is also set to open nearby in 2024.
“We look forward to being active in Finland again with the Fiskars Global HQ,” said Matthias Brodesser, Head of Transaction Management International at Warburg-HIH Invest. “During the coronavirus pandemic, the Nordic real estate markets have showcased their role as an anchor of stability in Europe and are accordingly in demand amongst our investors. As a result, we are continuing the expansion into the Scandinavian markets that we envisioned even before COVID-19. The office development project ‘Next’ is located in a district in which 50% of all companies listed on the Finnish stock exchange are based today – one that will continue evolving dynamically into a mixed-use quarter in the years ahead. We were able to acquire fully let project development under good terms at an early stage.”
“In Keilaniemi Next, we have worked closely together with all parties to develop an office project with a modern and sustainable working environment. Warburg-HIH Invest has chosen this project as its first investment coming back to Finland and we are very excited about our collaboration”, said Petri Bergstrom, Head of NCC Property Development Finland.
