Since 2018, Catella has acted as advisor and asset manager for Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company in the management and sale of a real estate portfolio of over 120,000 sqm. The properties were located in 18 different municipalities across Finland. The properties were mainly sold by individual transactions during the last five years, and the last property was sold in December 2022.
The Varma properties sold by Catella were located in 18 different municipalities across Finland. Well-known assets in the portfolio were e.g. Rautaruukki’s old headquarters property in Helsinki’s Herttoniemi, Syke shopping center in Lahti and Kodinkeskus retail property in Lappeenranta. The properties were sold one by one, mainly to domestic private investors and investment companies.
Some of the properties sold were transferred at the beginning of the sales project to Pegasos Real Estate Ky fund, which was managed by Catella Asset Management Oy. Development needs were identified in the properties transferred to the fund, and Catella Asset Management was responsible for improving the saleability of these properties by developing and renting the properties before sale.
”Varma has modified its direct real estate portfolio significantly over the last few years. Our goal has been to concentrate investments mainly in Finland’s most significant growth centres and to let go of smaller properties. Catella’s sales organization and Catella Asset Management succeeded in the sale of several small, sometimes even challenging, properties and helped us thus forward in our goal”, Varma’s Investment Manager Johanna Haikala says.
”We are very pleased that – despite the difficult times – our solutions and services for Varma enabled the implementation of their strategy for these assets. In this mandate, Catella had a great opportunity to combine its nationwide and strong asset development capabilities with its ability to sell properties. Catella Asset Management has a long history of properties that require active asset management. The joint operations with Catella Property enabled sales to be very efficient both in the capital region and in smaller municipalities”, says Catellas’ directors Tiina Holmström and Petteri Heikkinen.
For more information, contact:
Petteri Heikkinen
Director
Catella Property Oy
Tel. +358 40 7301 669
petteri.heikkinen@catella.fi
Tiina Holmström
Director, Asset Management
Catella Asset Management Oy
Tel. +358 50 3671 808
tiina.holmstrom@catella.fi
Iiro Nurkkala
CFO
Catella Asset Management Oy
Tel. +358 50 4668 879
iiro.nurkkala@catella.fi
Antti Louko
Managing Director
Catella Property Oy
Tel. +358 50 5277 392
antti.louko@catella.fi
Jussi Rouhento
Managing Director
Catella Asset Management Oy
Tel. +358 40 5129 577
jussi.rouhento@catella.fi