“Our focus is to develop attractive urban environments with a mix of retail, offices, residentials, service, culture and education. We do not deem it possible within the foreseeable future to develop the site at Västberga Handel in a manner which supports our vision and business concept. The current market situation strongly supports divestment. Therefore, we have chosen to sell the property and instead focus on and invest in our other locations with greater development opportunities," says Annica Ånäs, CEO of Atrium Ljungberg.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to make our first acquisition in Stockholm. Västberga Handel fits well with Serena's investment strategy and we look forward to continuing to develop the property together with our tenants to further strengthen the location. This is Serena's second acquisitions in Sweden this year and we are still working on finding more interesting acquisition opportunities," says Marc von Melen, CEO of Serena Properties.

The sale of Västberga Handel will take place through divestment of the company. The purchase price is based on an underlying property value of MSEK 437 before deductions for deferred tax. The transaction will yield a profit after tax of approximately MSEK 34 for the Atrium Ljungberg Group. MSEK 29 of this amount refers to realised change in the value of property and MSEK 5 refers to deferred tax. The profit will be reported in the accounts for the fourth quarter. The property’s rental value is MSEK 32. Serena Properties will take possession of the property on 20 December 2018.

Atrium Ljungberg has been developing Västberga Handel as a well-functioning regional retail hub in southern Stockholm since 1995. Västberga Handel currently comprises approximately 18,200 sqm letting area, which is primarily used for retail and service.