Barings Real Estate Advisers, part of Barings one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers, announces that it has acquired a €43m portfolio of seven residential properties in Finland from Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company on behalf of an institutional investor. Following this acquisition, Barings’ first in the residential sector in Europe, the firm now manages more than €844m of real estate assets in the Nordics.
The portfolio comprises seven properties located in the key Finnish growth cities of Espoo, Tampere, Turku and Lahti and provides a total of 18,770 m² of core Grade A rental accommodation across 301 apartments. All seven buildings are situated in popular residential areas with strong transport links and local services. The portfolio is nearly fully let and offers an opportunity for stable income and long term occupancy, with the potential for further upside through a targeted capex programme.
Göran Bengtsson, Managing Director and Head of the Nordics at Barings Real Estate Advisers, said, “The demand for rental accommodation in Finland remains strong, both with prospective tenants and investors and with a limited pipeline of new developments alongside an ongoing trend of urbanization, we expect this to be further strengthened over the coming years. With 46% of net rental income coming from the Helsinki metropolitan area, this portfolio provides significant and good quality exposure to the country’s largest growth cities and is well positioned to benefit from this demand over both the short and longer term."
Merilampi acted as Barings’ legal advisor, Newsec and Borenius advised Varma in the transaction.
