14.2.2018

Castrén & Snellman Strengthens Real Estate Practice – Antti Kaakkola and Matti Lajunen to Head New Real Estate Investments & Transactions Service

Castrén & Snellman is sharpening its service offering for the real estate market by establishing a new Real Estate Investments & Transactions service. Counsel Antti Kaakkola and Matti Lajunen, who have advised in some of Finland’s largest real estate projects, will head the new service.

‘Our firm is continually involved in Finland’s largest real estate transactions, and our services are in demand amongst investors, developers and industrial companies alike. We are now making these services more readily available to our clients. Antti and Matti have ambitious plans for developing this practice. They have put together a highly skilled team, which we will be reinforcing through recruiting this spring’, says Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa.

Finland’s real estate market hit record highs in both 2016 and 2017, with the relative proportion of international investors showing particular growth. Extensive development projects have brought with them new ways of implementing otherwise quite traditional real estate investment activities. The planned amendments to tax legislation are also adding new facets to real estate investments.

‘We are eager to develop our services for funds and other real estate investors and developers. Our new service covers the entire real estate investment life cycle, from fund formation through acquisition and ownership to exit. The versatile expertise of our firm and our experts means that we are in an excellent position to provide practical solutions for the needs of full range of clients in this industry’, say Kaakkola and Lajunen.

Antti Kaakkola and Matti Lajunen both have years of experience of a wide range of real estate industry assignments and negotiating the related agreements. The Real Estate Investments & Transactions team has been involved in real estate transactions worth several billion euros, including many of Finland’s largest real estate transactions and development projects of the past few years.

Latest references

We successfully represented VR Group before the Supreme Court in a case concerning the meal break practice of commuter train drivers. On 6 February 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in VR’s favour (decision KKO:2026:12), confirming that VR had the right to amend the commuter train drivers’ meal break practice in 2021 by rendering the break unpaid in accordance with the applicable collective agreement. This decision clarifies the interpretation of collective agreements and employment legislation as well as the limits of the employer’s right to direct work. Over 250 commuter train drivers challenged the unpaid meal break practice which VR introduced in April 2021. Before the change, meal breaks had a long history of being paid. The change was based on the train drivers’ collective agreement, which allows for meal breaks to be organised either as paid or unpaid time. The Supreme Court ruled that the scheduling and managing of breaks falls within the core area of the employer’s right to direct work. This increases the threshold for an established practice becoming a binding condition for the parties. Merely following a practice consistently and over a long period of time does not make the practice binding; instead, the employer’s intent to commit to the practice must be clearly evident from the employer’s conduct or other circumstances. As both alternatives – paid and unpaid – for organising meal breaks had been retained in the collective agreement despite other amendments over the years, it could not be considered that VR had intended to commit to the paid break practice and waive its right to direct work as regards break scheduling. It was also significant that the employment contracts explicitly referred only to the collective agreement as regards working time. The Supreme Court deemed that the employees’ paid meal break was not an established term of employment and that VR was entitled to change the practice based on the collective agreement. The employer had the right, by virtue of its right to direct work, to unilaterally change the meal break practice by choosing to apply the other arrangement permitted by the collective agreement.
Case published 3.3.2026
We are assisting CapMan Growth in its significant investment in Kuntokeskus Liikku, a Finnish gym chain known for its high-quality self-service facilities and excellent value for money. The investment will further strengthen Liikku’s position as a market leader and support the continued execution of its growth strategy. Liikku is one of Finland’s leading fitness chains, with more than 70 locations across the country serving nearly 90,000 members. The company’s concept is to offer high-quality self-service gyms at an exceptionally competitive price point which, combined with strong operational efficiency, provides a solid foundation for profitable growth. The company’s main shareholder is COR Group, a long-time partner of CapMan Growth, and a Finnish health and wellness conglomerate known for active ownership and long-term value creation. CapMan Growth is a leading Finnish growth investor that makes significant investments in entrepreneur-led growth companies with a turnover of €10–200 million. CapMan Growth is part of CapMan, which is a leading Nordic private equity investor engaged in active value creation work. CapMan has been listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange since 2001.
Case published 27.2.2026
Castrén & Snellman successfully assisted Terrafame Ltd in environmental and water management permit processes concerning the company’s entire operations and the KL1 side rock area, on which the Supreme Administrative Court issued its decision on 12 February 2026 (KHO 366/2026 and 367/2026). The changes made to the decisions of the Vaasa Administrative Court as a result of Terrafame’s appeals, enable the company to implement its new strategy and develop its operations as planned. The decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court brought the nearly ten-year-long permit process to a close.
Case published 20.2.2026
We advised Plastep Oy and its shareholders in the sale of the entire share capital of the company to FinnProfiles Oy. The acquisition strengthens FinnProfiles’ position as a Nordic expert in sealing and insulation solutions and expands the company’s expertise in the manufacture of plastic products and technical components. Plastep, founded in 2001 and based in South Savo, is a contract manufacturer specialising in the design and production of demanding and technical plastic components, with a turnover of EUR 6.5 million.
Case published 18.2.2026