Finnish fund invests in Raitininkų sodas project developed by YIT Kausta

YIT Group, comprising Lithuanian construction company YIT Kausta, is to transfer two residential construction projects in Vilnius and the Slovak capital of Bratislava to the Finnish YCE Housing I fund for EUR 25 million. The Finnish fund is investing in a residential project named Raitininkų sodas to be launched soon on Raitininkų Street in the central part of Vilnius. In Bratislava, the fund invests in a residential project named Tammi Dubravka. 

“The decision of the real estate investment fund with extensive experience to invest in our residential project in Vilnius is a proof of its attractiveness. The investment will ensure efficient execution of work and create one more exclusive place to live in the capital. In addition, this will also accelerate the development of our other real estate projects both in Vilnius and in Kaunas,” says Kęstutis Vanagas, head of YIT Kausta. 

Within the framework of the Raitininkų sodas project, YIT Kausta will build a complex of 210 modern apartments close to the River Neris in a strategically attractive place of Vilnius. The work is scheduled to be carried out in two stages. Stage I construction will be launched soon and will comprise a complex of over 100 apartments. The first floor is planned to house commercial premises for firms that will provide services to the residents of Raitininkų sodas. The first residents are expected to move to the new apartments in early 2019. 

Raitininkų sodas will have a courtyard with a well-decorated private garden. The upper floor of the building will offer spacious apartments with terraces boasting a spectacular view of the city. All apartments come with spacious balconies affording a beautiful view. 

The fifth stage of the Tammi Dubravka project acquired by YCE Housing I fund will involve the construction of a building housing around 130 apartments in an attractive location in Bratislava. The project is scheduled to be completed in spring 2019. 

It is not the first time that YIT Group cooperates with YCE Housing I fund. They already have three projects under construction – one in Tallinn, one in Prague and one in Bratislava.   

The investors in YCE Housing I fund are YIT (40%), Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company (30%) and a group of Finnish private investment companies. The fund’s equity is approximately EUR 37 million and it is managed by Vicus Capital Advisors Limited, a company with long experience of real estate investment and development activities in Eastern Europe and Russia. YCE Housing I fund supports YIT’s growth strategy in the CEE countries. By selling part of its project pipeline to YCE Housing I fund, YIT can release capital from projects under execution for new earlier-stage developments. During the next years, the fund is expected to carry out over ten projects and approximately one thousand apartments to be sold primarily to private buyers by YIT acting as an agent. 

The YIT international group of construction companies operates in the Baltic States, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. In 2016, the group’s revenue amounted to almost EUR 1.8 billion and its companies employed about 5,300 people.