Member Article

Swedish property firm makes London acquisition

Swedish firm Akelius has confirmed an £11.95m acquisition of two London-based property schemes.

The investment, advised by CBRE, takes the property group’s total spend in the UK to £150m for the last 18 months, and will see the redevelopment of two residential projects in Stepney Green and Purley.

St Peter’s Court in Stepney Green is a converted church, and will be renovated along with Welford House in Purley as part of Akelius’ growth strategy to improve rent performances.

The company currently owns 35,000 residential properties across Sweden, Germany, England and Canada, and has an approximate market value of £3.4bn.

Akelius’ UK managing director, Lars Lindfors, commented: “St Peter’s Court and Welford House fit within our core remit of acquiring residential property in diverse locations in London where we can strengthen yields on rental units.

“With the internal flat refurbishment to Akelius First Class specification, landscaping, and improving the management of both properties, we expect initial gross yields to rise substantially.”

Chris Lacey, head of residential investment and funding, CBRE, added: “Akelius has now invested almost £150 million in acquiring and refurbishing residential property in London and the South East of England, taking control of nearly 900 units.

“We are continuing to work with Akelius to identify further Greater London opportunities with asset management and refurbishment potential, and are planning to continue the rapid expansion of the investor’s UK portfolio in 2013.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .