Ilmarinen invests in office properties in Berlin and Amsterdam

Located on a freehold site at the heart of Berlin, Rocket Tower consists of four buildings. The property includes 17- and 22-storey office towers and offers some 26,200 square metres of office space in total. The buildings were completed in 1960 and 1999 and fully refurbished in 2015–2016. The main tenant is Rocket Internet, a venture capital company investing in companies specialising in e-commerce. L’Etoile Properties is responsible for the operative management of the property.

“Berlin is one of Europe’s most interesting real estate markets. The vacancy rate of office premises is at a record low, new construction is moderate and demand for space is strong,” says Mikko Antila, Portfolio Manager in charge of international real estate investments at Ilmarinen.

The Cloud office property in Amsterdam is located to the south of the city’s historic centre, next to the Amstel station. The lettable area is some 23,800 square metres and the property’s redevelopment was completed in Autumn 2017. The property is fully leased, with Amazon, Uber and Spaces as the main occupiers. The property is managed by Hannover Leasing, with which Ilmarinen has previously collaborated in the Belgian and Dutch real estate markets.

“Demand for office space has remained strong in Amsterdam, which is expected to maintain upward pressure on rental values during the next few years. Furthermore, the real estate investment market has recovered well from the post-financial crisis distress, but still offers competitive returns compared to other major European markets. The office property was built with environmental efficiency in mind, its quality level is high and its tenants are reputable, global technology companies,” Antila says.

The co-investor in both properties is an open-end real estate retail fund managed by the French asset manager Amundi Real Estate, with which Ilmarinen has co-invested in an office asset in Frankfurt in 2016.

“Both investments are well in line with Ilmarinen’s strategy to increase its real estate portfolio’s international diversification in a profitable and secure manner,” Antila adds.

Most of Ilmarinen’s real estate investments are located in Finland. In addition to Finland, Ilmarinen has direct real estate investments in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.