Suomi Mutual sold its real estate properties at Lönnrotinkatu in Helsinki

On 14 June 2005, Suomi Mutual Life Assurance Company (Suomi Mutual) sold its previous head office, located at Lönnrotinkatu and Kalevankatu in Helsinki, to Pramerica Real Estate Investors (Pramerica) acting on behalf of its institutional TMW fund, managed by its Munich based TMW Pramerica fund management company. The sale price was EUR 35.8 million.

The building at Lönnrotinkatu 5, completed in 1911, was designed by Finnish architects Onni Tarjanne and Armas Lindgren to be used as Suomi Mutual's head office. The whole building is protected. In 1937, the building was extended to Kalevankatu 6. The total floor area of the real estate premises located at Lönnrotinkatu 5 and Kalevankatu 6 is now over 12 000 square meters.

The premises are currently leased for Pohjola Group plc, which will continue tenancy on unchanged conditions with the new owner. 

Suomi Mutual intends to invest the proceeds from the sale in different property funds. Thus, the sale of the properties is a continuation to the securitisation of Suomi Mutual's real estate portfolio, which was initiated two years ago when Suomi Mutual sold the residential buildings in its portfolio. The securitisation continued at the beginning of 2005 when the company sold forests to Finsilva Oyj, a forestry management company jointly established by Suomi Mutual, Metsäliitto and the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK).

– By making indirect property investments, Suomi Mutual aims to increase the return on its real estate investments and to improve the marketability of these investments, says CIO Timo Hukka of Suomi Mutual.

The value of Suomi Mutual's investment portfolio is over EUR 6 billion, of which direct and indirect real estate investments account for around 7 per cent.

For further information, please contact
Suomi Mutual, Chief Investment Officer Timo Hukka, tel. +358 10 559 2002 or +358 40 519 0510

Suomi Mutual is one of Finland's largest life insurance companies with an investment portfolio of around EUR 6 billion. The Suomi Group also includes subsidiaries transacting life insurance in Poland and the Baltic States. The company forms a cooperation alliance with Pohjola Group plc and Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company. Pohjola is among Finland's leading insurance groups and Ilmarinen a large employee pension company.

Pramerica Real Estate Investors provides global real estate investment management services in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company manages total assets of EUR 19.5 billion on behalf of more than 350 clients. Pramerica is the Real Estate Investment arm of Prudential Financial Inc*. Prudential Financial and its affiliates have over USD 496 billion in total assets under management as of 31 March 2005, serve individual and institutional customers worldwide and include one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States.
*Prudential Financial is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.