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HELSINKI-Doughty Hanson & Co. Real Estate has refinanced the four remaining properties in its Finnish retail portfolio and will return euro 35 million ($44.5 million) to investors. When combined with the receipts from the sale of four assets, this amounts to an overall return to date of euro 51.1 million ($63.3 million) and represents a 1.4 times return on the cash investment as well as a gross IRR of 17%.

The portfolio, which is now 97% leased, comprises four assets:

• Iso Omena Kauppakeskus. This is a 53,700-sm shopping center in Western Helsinki with a mix of strong national and international brands. Major tenants include H&M, Esprit and Bang & Olufsen. Key office tenants include GlaxoSmithKline and Michelin.
• Kluuvi Kauppakeskus is an 18,000-sm center (including office buildings) in Helsinki's CBD. Retail tenants include Body Shop, Indiska and McDonalds.
• Megahertsi Kauppakeskus is a 6,700-sm center in a suburb of Helsinki. Key tenants include Alko (State Alcohol Monopoly) and a supermarket.
• Pekuri City Block. The 22,600-sm shopping center, located in a prime city block in the northern town of Oulu, is anchored by a Stockmann store, the leading department store in the Baltics.

"Since our acquisition of the Finnish retail portfolio in 2004, we have initiated a successful value-enhancement program through active management and sold four non-core assets from the original portfolio," recaps Nils Styf of Doughty Hanson. "We've taken advantage of the effect of this active management, and an improving retail investment market in Finland, to complete the refinancing."

The 2004 purchase Styf refers to was made from Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co., as part of the restructuring of the Ilmarinen's portfolio. It was the largest-ever cross-border real estate transaction in Finland.