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 square meters of core Grade A rental accommodation across 301 apartments. 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. Merilampi acted as Barings’ legal advisor, Newsec and Borenius advised Varma in the transaction.

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.”
 
Gunther Deutsch, Managing Director and Head of Investment Transactions Europe at Barings Real Estate Advisers said:
“The acquisition of this portfolio of core residential assets builds on our portfolio of assets in Finland, including the recently acquired shopping centre in Espoo and office development in Helsinki as a part of our value-add strategy, and further demonstrates the wide range of strategies we operate as a platform. It is a strong endorsement of the expertise of our local and experienced team in Helsinki, and as our first residential transaction within Europe, it further adds to our longstanding Nordic track record. We continue to focus on Sweden and Finland within the Nordic markets and are looking to identify investment opportunities across a range of sectors and strategies.”

Barings Real Estate Advisers is part of Barings LLC, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers.