Kesko to continue as anchor tenant at Ruoholahti Shopping Centre

Antilooppi has entered into a new long-term lease agreement with Kesko regarding premises at the Ruoholahti Shopping Centre (Kauppakeskus Ruoholahti). The agreement covers approximately 15,000 m2 of premises for K-Citymarket and K-Rauta. The new lease agreement will commence in March 2022, when the administration and management of the entire shopping centre will be transferred to Antilooppi. Kesko will continue as an anchor tenant and focus on further developing the operations of K-Citymarket and K-Rauta.

“By further developing these already highly successful K-Citymarket and K-Rauta stores, we will be able to better serve the needs of local customers in the future. At the same time, we are helping to create an even more attractive shopping centre,” says Timo Heikkilä, District Director, Kesko South Finland.

“We are very pleased that Kesko will continue as an anchor tenant at the shopping centre,” says Markku Määttä, Portfolio Director at Antilooppi.

Renovated shopping centre will transform Ruoholahti into the new western city centre

The Ruoholahti Shopping Centre is located in the downtown area of Helsinki with excellent transport connections, making it easy to reach by public transport, walking, cycling or by car. The Ruoholahti area is developing strongly and has earned its place as a commercial and office location for successful companies, as well as an enjoyable seaside urban environment for several thousand local residents.

“Antilooppi owns several properties in Ruoholahti, and developing the area is important to us. By developing the shopping centre, our goal is to provide even better and more diverse daily shopping services, as well as interesting restaurants and cafés, to the people working and living in the area. This project with its development plans supports our strategy very well,” says Tuomas Sahi, CEO of Antilooppi.

Antilooppi sees a lot of development potential in the shopping centre, which opened in 2002, and will begin developing the property during 2022. As part of these plans, Antilooppi and Kesko have agreed on a joint project aimed at further improving the customer experience.

“We are planning significant development measures for the shopping centre, which will further increase the attractiveness of the western downtown area. The project will breathe new life into the whole area, and the renovated shopping centre will become the pulsating heart of the neighbourhood. At the same time, Ruoholahti will become Helsinki’s new western city centre with its new restaurants and cafés,” Määttä adds.