M&G European Property Fund has acquired an approximately €148 million portfolio of 11 residential assets in Finland. Ten of the assets were acquired from a joint venture of YIT and Ålandsbanken, and one directly from Ålandsbanken Housing Fund. The portfolio comprises of 630 high-quality apartments located in top Finnish growth cities including Helsinki region (8 assets), Tampere (1), Turku (1), and Hämeenlinna (1). The portfolio matches the market demand well as 73% of the apartments are compact studio or one-bedroom units. The properties will be completed on a phased basis with five assets to be taken into use by the end of this year with the remainder in 2021.
Simon Ellis, Fund Manager, M&G, comments: “This acquisition is a key milestone in the Fund’s recent expansion into residential markets across continental Europe, and follows recent transactions in the Netherlands, France and Italy, providing strong diversification and rental growth potential for our investors.
The greater Helsinki area is a very dynamic region with significant continuing urbanisation, creating a need for around 50% of all future new housing stock required in Finland. This portfolio represents a well-diversified group of new apartment blocks with a range of apartment sizes and local amenities targeting the broad, mid-range range rental market, often in rapidly growing commuter locations, benefiting also from greater flexible working practices in the Nordics.”
Linda Anttila, Associate Director, Residential Capital Markets, CBRE Finland, comments: “Through our European Residential Capital Markets Team we have seen a significant increase in cross-border investments in residential sector in Europe within the last years. From an international perspective, the Finnish residential market is seen extremely attractive, supported by strong fundamentals, such as urbanisation and growth of key city areas. I am delighted to welcome M&G to the Finnish residential market. This portfolio of compact, modern apartments in growing city regions meets the demand of the market extremely well.”
CBRE acted as M&G’s commercial advisor in the transaction, which represents their entry to the Finnish residential sector.
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Contact:
Linda Anttila, Associate Director, Residential Capital Markets
+358 40 535 6490
[email protected]