JLL advises S-Bank’s funds in the sale of almost 400 apartments to Avara Residential Fund II
A residential portfolio of almost 400 apartments
HELSINKI, February 4, 2021 – S-Bank’s funds have sold a residential portfolio of almost 400 apartments to Avara Residential Fund II. The portfolio consists of 17 assets, of which 8 are wholly- and 9 minority-owned. The leasable area of the portfolio is approximately 20,000 sq m.
The assets are located in the large cities in Southern Finland and are nearly fully occupied. The portfolio’s main focus is on Helsinki region and the other apartments are located in Tampere, Lahti and Jyväskylä regions.
The sellers in the transaction are FIM Asuntorahasto I Ky and FIM Asuntotuotto Erikoissijoitusrahasto, which are funds controlled by S-Bank’s Wealth Management companies.
Petri Jokinen, CEO, FIM Kiinteistö Oy: We are very pleased with the transaction and that a new domestic owner with a long history in the industry was found for our residential portfolio. At the same time this is a great conclusion for our FIM Asuntorahasto I Ky, established in 2013, and the fund’s term has now successfully ended.
Harri Retkin, CIO, Avara Oy: The transaction is an excellent addition to our growing Avara Residential Fund II Ky fund and supports the growth of Avara funds. The fund’s strategy is to own residential properties in growth centres and this transaction supports this goal well. We are pleased to complete the transaction with professional domestic counter parties.
Tero Uusitalo, Co-Head of Capital Markets, JLL Finland: We are pleased to have been able to successfully advise S-Bank’s funds in the sale of this residential portfolio. The current market conditions have significantly increased the interest towards residential investments and portfolios of quality - even towards minority-owned assets. Particularly, the strong and predictable existing cash flow is highly sought-after by both domestic and foreign investors. We have truly put an effort on residential segment in Finland for multiple years now and it is rewarding to see that with our extensive market knowledge we were able to achieve great results for our client.
JLL acted as S-Bank’s funds’ sole commercial advisor in the transaction. Borenius acted as the seller’s legal advisor in the transaction.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $18.0 billion in 2019, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of over 92,000 as of September 30, 2020. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
S-Bank
S-Bank is a Finnish bank that wants to make it possible for everyone to have a little more wealth, regardless of how much money they have to start with. We specialise in understanding both the economy and people: as part of S Group, we know the daily lives of our 3.1 million customers. We are reforming the banking business by offering superior ease and benefits to customers by combining the services or our bank and S Group stores.