Antti Kaakkola

Partner, Member of the Finnish Bar

I head Castrén & Snellman’s Real Estate Investments & Transactions service and specialise in real estate transactions, construction law and mergers and acquisitions.

I am a recognised expert, having worked extensively in these fields for over a decade. I have advised clients in several domestic and cross-border landmark real estate transactions, including extensive real estate portfolio and real estate fund projects as well as sale and leaseback arrangements.

The Legal 500 and Chambers Europe rank me among Finland’s leading legal experts.

Latest references

We assisted eQ Community Properties Fund in the sale of three healthcare and hospital properties to Niam. The properties have a total floor area of approximately 18,000 square meters. Two of the properties are located in Helsinki and one in Pori. Saukonpaadenranta 2 is a property in the maritime district of Jätkäsaari, with the private cancer hospital Docrates as its main tenant. Bulevardi 22 is a historical property where Mehiläinen, one of Finland’s largest private healthcare service providers, operates as the main tenant. The property in Pori, located in the heart of the city, has a lettable area of approximately 5,800 square metres and it is BREEAM Very Good certified. The property is fully leased to Terveystalo. 
Case published 5.7.2024
We advised funds managed by OP in a transaction whereby they sold two modern logistics properties to Logian. Logian is a joint venture between Keva and Mrec Investment Management Oy. The properties are located in Tuusula close to the Helsinki Airport, and their area is approximately 32,300 square metres in total. The properties hold the LEED Gold certificate with energy class A and feature solar panels that generate a significant share of the electricity used by the properties annually. 
Case published 3.7.2024
We advised OP-Rental Yield non-UCITS fund in the sale of two apartment buildings to Sirius Capital Partners. The object of sale comprised 158 apartments with the combined area of approximately 7,100 square metres. The buildings are located in Pasila and Etelä-Haaga in Helsinki. The building in Etelä-Haaga is very energy efficient with an EPC rating A, equipped with both solar panels  and geothermal heating. Sirius will be installing solar panels on the roof of the Pasila building, transforming its EPC rating from B to A.
Case published 24.6.2024
We advised Oivat Kaupunkikodit Ky, a fund managed by eQ, in the sale of a residential portfolio comprising four housing companies to Catella European Residential III Fund. The properties are located in central locations in Helsinki, Vantaa, Tampere and Turku and were completed between 2021 and 2022. The portfolio consists of 243 apartments and six commercial units, with a total lettable area of approximately 11,000 square meters. Furthermore, the SFDR Article 9 compliant residential portfolio will undergo significant energy efficiency improvement measures in the future, for example through new solar panel systems.
Case published 30.5.2024
We advised WasaGroup Ltd in a green transition project where WasaGroup will plan Hitachi Energy’s new production and technology campus in Mustasaari. WasaGroup will be responsible for planning, permitting, managing and conducting the entire project as well as for the tender processes. We advised WasaGroup in drafting and commenting the project management and financing agreements for the project. The Mustasaari campus will be approximately 30,000 square meters in size. The investment by Hitachi Energy will double the capacity for transformer production in Finland, and the product range will expand to include even larger transformers. The objective of the investment is to meet the demand for transformers and other modern technology that is increasing in Finland and internationally due to the green energy transition. The first phase of the project involved an agreement for a development project to prepare the building permit and reach sufficient planning readiness for the implementation of the project. The aim is to have the production and technology campus in use by 2027.
Case published 30.5.2024
We advised Oivat Kaupunkikodit Ky, a fund managed by eQ, in the sale of a residential portfolio comprising four housing companies to Sirius Capital Partners. The value of the portfolio is approximately 45 million euros. The properties are located in central locations in Helsinki, Vantaa, Tampere and Turku and were completed between 2021 and 2023. The portfolio consists of 251 apartments with a total lettable area of approximately 10,000 square meters. The properties also have a high ESG profile and are equipped with solar panels.
Case published 22.4.2024
We advised Catella Real Estate AG in the sale of an office property located at Lönnrotinkatu 20 in Helsinki’s central business district to a fund managed by Slättö. The property will be refurbished and developed into a Bob W apartment hotel, which is expected to open to the public during the summer 2025. The building was originally constructed in the 1970s and has approximately 4,600 square meters of lettable space.
Case published 31.1.2024
We advised LähiTapiola Aluekiinteistöt Ky in its acquisition of a portfolio comprising three real estate companies. The buildings on the properties owned by the real estate companies, completed between 2016 and 2017, are located in Espoo, Vantaa and Ylöjärvi with excellent transportation connections. All three assets boast a high ESG profile with leading Finnish retailers Kesko and Tokmanni Group as their tenants.
Case published 11.1.2024