East Capital Explorer AB (publ) (“ECEX”) has, through a subsidiary, signed a
long-term lease contract with Swedbank for premises covering approximately 70
percent of a new office building to be constructed in central Vilnius. The new
building will be built on the land plot adjacent to the existing 3 Burės office
complex, both of which were purchased by ECEX in 2014. ECEX will invest up to
EUR 9m over a two-year construction period, which will commence in the fourth
quarter 2016.
Mia Jurke, CEO of East Capital Explorer, commented “This project reflects our
long-term interest in commercial real estate in the Baltics, and proves the
attractiveness of the Lithuanian capital among international companies. The
lease agreement with Swedbank secures cash flows from day one after the
construction period, and we expect the property to generate an attractive annual
ROE of around 15 percent upon completion.”
East Capital Explorer has since 2012 invested more than EUR 50m in the Baltic
real estate segment that continues to offer a combination of high yield and
attractive financing while rent levels and valuations are far below the Nordic
level.
The new building will comprise approximately 13,000 square meters of leasable
floor space. The building is expected to be the first in Lithuania to receive a
LEED platinum certification for environmental sustainability. With the new
building, the 3 Burės complex will comprise three office towers with more than
41,000 square meters of leasable floor space. 3 Burės will thereby become the
largest A class office complex in the Baltics.
Dovilė Grigienė, Head of Swedbank Lithuania, commented: “Swedbank Lithuania aims
to provide fine working conditions for all our employees, that is why it has
been a natural decision to rent one more office building close to our bank’s
headquarters in Konstitucijos prospektas. We have been actively expanding our
range of activities in Lithuania and plan to have around 800 working places in
the new building. It will mainly host our non-financial services branch as well
as bank’s fast growing IT department, both of them are currently located in
various places of Vilnius.”
The total construction cost, excluding the land plot purchased at EUR 4.8m by
ECEX in 2014, will amount to approximately EUR 25m. Of this, ECEX will finance
up to EUR 9m in successive installments over the coming two years, and the
remainder will be financed through credit facilities. The new investment will be
included in the 3 Burės holding in East Capital Explorer’s portfolio reporting.
The project is contracted to the Finnish construction company YIT.
Contact information
Mia Jurke, CEO, East Capital Explorer, +46 8 505 885 32
Lena Krauss, CFO and Head of Investor Relations, East Capital Explorer, +46
73 988 44 66
About East Capital Explorer
East Capital Explorer AB (publ) is a Swedish investment company, offering unique
investment opportunities in Eastern Europe, where the Baltic countries represent
the company’s largest investment region. The company primarily invests in
unlisted assets within the private equity and real estate segments. East Capital
Explorer’s main investment theme is domestic growth and the company targets fast
growing sectors such as Retail and Consumer goods, Financials and Real Estate.
East Capital Explorer is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Mid Cap.
Listing: Nasdaq Stockholm, Mid Cap - Ticker: ECEX - ISIN: SE0002158568 -
Reuters: ECEX.ST - Bloomberg: ECEX SS Equity
This information is information that East Capital Explorer AB (publ) is obliged
to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was
submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out
above, at 08:00 a.m. CET on 21 October 2016.
