EfTEN acquired the L3 office building in Vilnius from E.L.L. Real Estate
EfTEN Real Estate Fund III purchased the L3 office building in Vilnius from E.L.L. Real Estate Lithuanian subsidiary UAB Centresta. This marks the second real estate transaction between EfTEN Real Estate Fund III and E.L.L. Real Estate in the last two years.
According to EfTEN Real Estate Fund III fund manager Viljar Arakas, the L3 is an ideal addition to the fund’s portfolio. “The L3 is great for smaller companies who value modern working environment but do not require a location in the city centre. The centre of Vilnius currently has a record volume of A-class office developments but those are targeted mainly at large companies. The L3 clearly has a specialised offering, providing smaller companies comfortable offices with good parking solutions at competitive rates,” said Arakas.
According to E.L.L. Real Estate board member and CFO Taavi Ojala, closing already a second transaction in two years with EfTEN is a proof to the professional and productive cooperation. “We value highly EfTEN’s investment success and their insight in making different choices from other Baltic real estate investors. Unlike many competitors, EfTEN dared to invest outside the capital into Saules Miestas shopping centre in Šiauliai, and now with the L3 office building they have their sight set on a project outside the city centre, while other investors are mainly focusing on the very active market in the heart of Vilnius,” said Ojala.
Ojala added that the sale of the L3 office building was a strategic business decision for E.L.L. Real Estate. “We will be focusing on new development projects in addition to managing our existing core portfolio of 185,000 m2 of rental area.” The company will continue the construction of Narbuto 5 office building in the immediate vicinity of Panorama shopping centre in Vilnius, the Skanstes office complex in Riga, which consists of five buildings, is in the design stage, and the Liivalaia office complex in Tallinn, consisting of three buildings, is being prepared for development.
The L3 office building is located near Vilnius airport by the Vilnius-Klaipeda highway and Minsk highway, being easily accessible from all areas of Vilnius by car and public transport. The 10-storey building offers beautiful panorama views over Neris river and Vingis park. The L3 has 37 tenants, the largest being insurance company Bonum Publicum, SBA Group, travel company Novaturas, car rental company AVIS and construction company Merko Statyba. The building, which was completed in 2005, has 6,100 m2 of rental space and an outdoor parking lot with two hundred parking spaces.
The transaction value is confidential pursuant to the parties’ agreement. The seller was advised by Valiunas Ellex law firm and the buyer by Fort Legal law firm in the transaction. The advisor for the sale-purchase transaction was Newsec.
EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS (www.eften.ee) is a public closed alternative investment fund founded in 2015 by fund manager EfTEN Capital. The fund invests in the commercial real estate or related securities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The fund is suitable for investors with a long-term investment horizon who want to benefit from the regional commercial real estate market outlook, attractive returns from stable and predictable cash flows and moderate capital growth. EfTEN Capital AS is an asset management company, founded in 2008, specializing in commercial real estate investments in the Baltic States. EfTEN Capital is authorized and regulated by Estonian Financial Supervision Authority. EfTEN Capital’s group of companies manage 46 commercial real estate buildings and over 900 tenants. Total real estate assets under management is over 500 million euros.
E.L.L. Real Estate (www.ell-realestate.com) is one of the biggest real estate developers in the Baltic States, developing and managing commercial properties, hotels and office buildings. The company’s portfolio currently includes around 185,000 m2 of rental area. E.L.L. Real Estate is a shareholder in several leading shopping centres (Spice and Spice Home in Riga, Panorama in Vilnius and Viru Centre in Tallinn) and owns two office buildings (Delta Plaza and Sõpruse Ärimaja in Tallinn). The company also owns Nordic Hotel Forum (operated by OÜ Nordic Hotels) and together with AS Infortar Tallink City Hotell and Tallink Express Hotell (both operated by Tallink Hotels). The group, consisting of around 30 subsidiaries, earned a revenue of 42.3 million euros in 2015.