Kinland announce signed agreements for the acquisition of 18 social infrastructure properties from various sellers at the end of Q4 2023. Including previously concluded transactions, Kinland has acquired 51 properties in 2023, making it the best year for the company in terms of portfolio growth since it was acquired in 2019.

The transactions comprise 18 preschool properties, of which 14 in Finland and four in Norway. A large majority of the properties are new or recently built with high technical and environmental standards, primarily let to leading operators in their segments on long-term lease agreements.

The transactions have a total gross property value of approximately EUR 35 million and include three different target portfolios. The first transaction is the acquisition of eleven Finnish preschool properties from Titanium. The parties have entered into an unconditional SPA with expected closing in Q1 2024. The second transaction is a sale-leaseback comprising four Norwegian preschool properties from an undisclosed seller. An unconditional SPA has been signed with execution in two tranches and expected final closing in January 2024. The third and final transaction is the acquisition of three Finnish preschool properties from UB Finnish Properties (AIF), closed at the time of this announcement.

Since its original acquisition in 2019, Kinland’s management team has further strengthened the group as the leading provider of government-backed social infrastructure within the Nordic region and continental Europe. Following the Transactions, Kinland will own and manage a portfolio of 366 properties, representing more than 110 percent growth since its inception, both in number of units and gross property values. Moreover, Kinland has more than tripled its footprint in Finland, where its portfolio has grown from 47 to 187 social infrastructure properties since 2020.

The transactions will be financed by a combination of equity from existing shareholders and debt facilities from existing financiers, being leading European banks and institutional investors.

“These bolt-on acquisitions further substantiate Kinland’s ambitions for enhancing our essential societal role as a leading provider of social infrastructure across the Nordics and continental Europe. With these transactions that are at the core of our investment strategy, we continue to strengthen our position as a leading provider of preschool facilities in both of our key jurisdictions, Norway and Finland. We continue to see great opportunities for further growth and consolidation within the Nordic preschool sector, especially in Finland where we during 2023 have in-sourced an experienced organization,” says Benjamin Thorsen, CEO of Kinland.

Deloitte acted as legal, financial and tax adviser, and WSP acted as technical adviser, to Kinland on the transactions.