Plantasjen ASA Sells, Leases Back Two Retail Stores

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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN-Plantasjen ASA, the garden superstore chain in the Nordic region has sold and leased back two of its retail stores in a transaction with WP Carey & Co. LLC of New York. The stores–one in Finland and one in Sweden–were purchased for $30.8 million. In exchange, Plantasjen has leased back the facilities for 20 and 25 years, respectively. The value of the lease was not released by the parties involved and not otherwise immediately available.WP Carey purchased the properties on behalf of Corporate Property Associates 16 – Global Inc., one of its publicly held, non-traded REITs. The transaction represented WP Carey’s first investment in Sweden and fourth in Finland. Plantasjen is a portfolio company of EQT, a private equity group in Northern Europe. The stores, totaling 155,051 sf, are located in Vantaa, Finland (96,302 sf) and Linköping, Sweden (58,749 sf).WP Carey’s portfolio of managed properties in the European market now totals about 13 million sf. Earlier this month, as part of a plan to rebalance its investment portfolio, one of the largest insurance companies and financial institutions in Scandinavia completed a sale-leaseback transaction with WP Carey for its 979,000-sf headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. Pohjola Non-Life Insurance Co. Ltd. received euro 83.6 million ($110 million) for the office building and then leased it back for 10.5 years. In this instance, WP Carey acquired the asset on behalf of two of its publicly held, non-traded REITS: CPA 16-Global and CPA 15. In July, on behalf of the same two Refits, WP Carey completed a sale-leaseback with TietoEnator, acquiring the company’s chief technology facility and a corporate office in Espoo, Finland, for approximately euro 72 million ($97 million). The length and value of the leaseback was not immediately available. WP Carey chief investment officer Edward LaPluma said at that time the company’s goal is to continue expanding its presence in the European market, where approximately 70% of corporations own their own real estate. “We anticipate an increase in our investment volume in the months ahead as more European companies realize the benefits [of sale-leaseback transactions],” he said.