Carlyle makes €216m RE investment in Finland

The firm’s European fund has acquired a portfolio of office properties scattered across the country.

The Carlyle Group has acquired a portfolio of 30 assets located across Finland for €216 million ($332 million).

Carlyle Europe Real Estate II has acquired the portfolio of mainly office properties in large and mid-sized cities in Finland, with a concentration in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

The portfolio has been acquired from Finnish insurance company the Tapiola group, which owned the properties through several of its affiliated companies. The total lettable area of the entire portfolio is 140,500 square meters. Tapiola is the largest tenant.

Carlyle says it plans to make a significant investment in the buildings to further improve occupancy through refurbishment and modernization.

“We jumped at this opportunity to acquire a very attractive commercial real estate portfolio,” said Carlyle managing director Thomas Lindstrom. “Our ambition is to further increase occupancy and take advantage of the good prospects for redevelopment. The relatively high yields compared to other mature European markets also make Finland an attractive country for investors.”

Carlyle made its first Finland investment in July 2007 when it acquired a portfolio of four buildings in Helsinki from the Pension Fund of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE. Carlyle’s second European real estate fund is a €760 million vehicle. Carlyle established its European real estate investing arm in 2001. It is currently raising a third European real estate fund, with a target of €1.5 billion.

Finland has been attracting an increasing amount of real estate investment. Aberdeen Asset Management, Doughty Hanson, Niam and Capman are just a few of the firms that have been active in real estate in the country in the past year.