YIT to establish a plot fund together with an investor group

YIT is involved in establishing a fund that invests in residential plots in Finland. YIT’s partners in the fund are Ålandsbanken and pension insurance company Varma.

The investing capacity of the fund is EUR 100 million with an equity of EUR 50 million thereof. The equity investors of the fund are YIT (20%), Varma (40%) and Ålandsbanken (40%). The fund is managed by Ålandsbanken.

YIT is responsible for finding plots for the fund, and Ålandsbanken as the managing party makes the investments. YIT recognises profit generated by the fund corresponding to its ownership share of the fund. Additionally, YIT constructs self-developed residential buildings on the plots owned by the fund. The residents have a chance to redeem their plot share partly or completely at a preferred moment, which enables YIT to offer more flexibility for the consumer regarding the timing of residential investment.

“Ålandsbanken Funds and YIT have established a strong collaboration during the last five years. We are very content that the co-operation is further strengthened with this new fund. We are also taking a significant step by starting co-operation with Varma, which is one of the largest investors in Finland”, says Tom Pettersson, Managing Director at Ålandsbanken Funds Ltd.

“The plot fund is a good way to spread Varma’s indirect property investments and it offers us an opportunity for stable and predictable profit with moderate risk. We are happy to operate with our experienced partners as this is our first investment in residential plots in Finland through a fund”, says Ilkka Tomperi, Investment Director, Real Estate at Varma.

YIT’s strategic target is to make a significant part of its large, long-term investments with partners. The plot fund is part of the Partnership properties segment established at the beginning of 2018. The segment focuses on financing the initial phases of major development projects and on the ownership and subsequent realisation of plots and the developed projects at a suitable moment.

”The plot fund is a logical step in our strategy that we followed when we established the Partnership properties segment at the beginning of this year. This is a way to grow our investing capacity in a capital-efficient manner together with our partners,” comments Esa Neuvonen, Executive Vice President for YIT’s Partnership properties segment.

For further information, please contact: 

Hanna Jaakkola, Vice President, Investor Relations, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 40 5666 070, hanna.jaakkola@yit.fi

Pasi Huhtakangas, Director, Residential Investment Projects, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 40 565 3907, pasi.huhtakangas@yit.fi

YIT CORPORATION

Hanna Jaakkola

Vice President, Investor Relations

Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki, major media, www.yitgroup.com

YIT is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. We develop and build apartments, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in demanding infrastructure construction and paving.  Together with our customers our 10,000 professionals are creating more functional, more attractive and more sustainable cities and environments. We work in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The new YIT was born when over 100-year-old YIT Corporation and Lemminkäinen Corporation merged on February 1, 2018. Our pro forma revenue for 2017 was over EUR 3.8 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com