The idea behind Ovenia Oy’s new property development concept is to redevelop existing properties and projects. If expertly executed, the concept rapidly improves the occupancy ratio of premises, and thus offers real estate investors higher cash flows and appreciating values.

In recent years, older properties have been left in the shadow of newer production. But older office buildings have undeniable advantages for many tenants. Their location is generally good, and transport connections and area infrastructure are already in place. The price-quality ratio of these sites is also good.
- We began to think how we could help our clients to get more value out of their older properties. In the current situation, property values are no longer rising in the wake of economic growth. The critical factor now is whether the right things are done at the right time with respect to each property, says Mika Valtonen, Ovenia’s CEO.

Mandatum Life decided to participate in this concept. The first site chosen was a property, built in 1978 and located at Haukilahti in the City of Espoo, which had about 5,000 square metres of vacant space. As a result of Ovenia’s life cycle development services, the property’s business plan was brought up-to-date, the premises were renovated, improved and redistributed, and finally the building gained its own unique visual identity.
- The improvements we made attracted plenty of tenants and we currently have only 450 square metres of vacant space left. Our investment paid off, says Kim Westberg, Sampo plc’s Vice President for Real Estate. The most important thing, according to Westberg, is that the occupancy ratio is high and that the tenants are satisfied. 

Another recent development at Haukilahti was the opening of the AHTI Business Park, a venture in which the tenants were closely involved. Particularly successful has been the venture’s office hotel, which has brought many growth enterprises to AHTI. Big and small tenants alike appreciate the property’s optimal location in their own operating environment, its diverse services and the new ‘community spirit’ embraced in the overall concept. Similar developments are presently taking place in other properties administered by Sampo plc’s Real Estate Unit, such as the M1 Business House at Myyrmäki in the City of Vantaa.
- These projects have shown us that a property manager can, by operating in a proactive way, be a valuable strategic partner for a real estate investor.  In the AHTI project the property’s vacancy ratio diminished in just over a year from 49 per cent to 4.4 per cent. This had a major impact on the property’s value,” says Westberg.

Additional information:

Mika Valtonen, CEO, Ovenia Oy, mika.valtonen(a)ovenia.fi, mobile phone +358 (0)40 726 0006
Mia-Iris Puhakainen, Sales Manager, Ovenia Oy, mia-iris.puhakainen(a)ovenia.fi, mobile phone +358 (0)41 501 1023
Kim Westberg, Vice President, Real Estate, Sampo plc, kim.westberg(a)sampo.fi, telephone +358 (0)10 516 0752

Ovenia Oy
Ovenia Oy provides property management services. The company focuses on operational portfolio management, including property management, financial management, leasing services and life cycle development. In Finland, Ovenia administers a large number of portfolios that include about 5.7 million surface square metres. In 2007, Ovenia’s net revenue was approximately EUR 8.3 million. Ovenia employs roughly 100 professionals and has offices in Helsinki, Lahti, Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Vaasa, Kuopio, Lappeenranta and Oulu.
www.ovenia.fi

Mandatum Life
Mandatum Life Insurance Company Limited is a part of the Sampo Group. The Sampo Group also comprises If,  the leading P&C insurance company in the Nordic countries and Sampo plc,  the Group’s holding company. The Sampo Group operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic countries and Russia. It has approximately 7,000 employees, of whom some 400 work in Mandatum Life.
www.sampo.com