28.5.2018

AEW Europe Retail Fund – Acquisition of the Kirjatalo Property from Stockmann

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Tax & Structuring

We assisted AEW Europe Retail Fund as its tax and structuring advisor in the acquisition of the Kirjatalo property from Stockmann plc. With a purchase price of EUR 108.6 million, the acquisition was our client’s first investment in Finland since the inception of the global financial crisis.

The property was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and is located in the centre of Helsinki. It is called Kirjatalo or ‘house of books’ after its best-known occupant, the Akateeminen kirjakauppa bookstore, which has held house in the same place for more than 50 years. The bookstore is currently owned by Bonnier Books. The other main tenants are the Stockmann Herkku grocery store, Isku Invest and Technopolis. The total leasable area of the property is 8,861 square metres.

AEW is one of the world’s largest property investors. It manages a real estate investment portfolio of over EUR 60 billion in Europe, Asia and North America.

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