VVO Group will sell more than 8,000 of its ARA rental apartments that are subject to long-term restrictions to Y-Asunnot
VVO Group is shifting its focus to the Lumo service business. Today, the parties signed a preliminary agreement on the transfer of 8,631 cost principle rental apartments to Kiinteistö OY Y-Asunnot which is part of the Y-Foundation. The sales price is the transfer price confirmed by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA), approximately EUR 75 million. The transaction will not affect the status of the residents, and all of the rental agreements will remain unaltered.
In the future, VVO Group will offer rental apartments at 30 locations in Finland, instead of the current 41 locations.
– VVO Group is the largest market-based landlord in Finland, offering viable options for owner-occupied housing and new kinds of housing services. At the moment, the Group has over 27,000 Lumo rental apartments. VVO Group aims to invest heavily in the growth of Lumo apartments in the next three years by developing new properties and buying existing properties in its property portfolio. Urbanisation and migration to growth centres provides VVO Group with good growth opportunities in the Finnish rental housing market.
The Group´s current project commitments cover 2,000 rental apartments or EUR 300 million, Jani Nieminen, CEO of VVO Group plc says.
– Due to changes in the regulation of housing, the management of state-subsidised rental housing stock will become separate from the core business of VVO Group, which is to offer market-based rental housing. The Group will invest even more heavily in the development of the new Lumo housing service concepts, Mr. Nieminen says.
– The company´s focus has been on market-based operations throughout the 2000s, and this transaction is in line with the development of the group over the last twenty years. We will build a notable number of new rental apartments in areas where the need for labour force is expected to increase by the end of 2018. We want to make it easier for people to move to growth centres to find employment, and contribute to the stimulation of the Finnish economy. New housing services and flexible rental housing are important aspects of improving the mobility of labour force, Riku Aalto, Chairman of the Board of Directors at VVO Group says.
– The Y-Foundation has a strong background and long traditions in the provision of supported and affordable housing. Now as the number of our rental apartments will double, we can offer an even wider range of rental housing. The transaction will not affect existing rental agreements, Juha Kaakinen, CEO of the Y-Foundation says.
The transaction will be concluded at the start of January 2016. Approximately 60 VVO Group employees will also move to the Y-Foundation in January.
More information:
Jani Nieminen, CEO, VVO Group plc, tel. +358 (0)50 373 4847, firstname.lastname@vvo.fi
Riku Aalto, Chairman of the Board, tel. +358 (0)400 711 072, firstname.lastname@metalliliitto.fi
Juha Kaakinen, CEO, Y-Foundation, tel. +358 (0)9 7742 5511, firstname.lastname@ysaatio.fi
VVO Group plc is Finland´s largest market-based, private-sector landlord. In January 2016, the Group will have over 27,000 Lumo rental apartments across Finland. The Group employs approximately 300 housing professionals.
lumo.fi, vvo.fi