CORNERSTONE OF ALMA MEDIA’S NEW OFFICE BUILDING LAID ON MONDAY

Alma Media Corporation   Press release   September 5, 2011 at 14:15 (EEST)

CORNERSTONE OF ALMA MEDIA’S NEW OFFICE BUILDING LAID ON MONDAY

As many as four office buildings will be built in Helsinki’s Töölönlahti Bay area within the next couple of years. The cornerstone of the first one, Alma Media’s head office, was laid on Monday, September 5, 2011. The developer is Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and the building will be constructed by Lemminkäinen. 

Within the next two years, the Töölönlahti Bay area will be one of Finland’s largest and most visible office building sites. Four office buildings, designed to be head offices, will rise in the area. For three of them, the developer is Etera and the construction company Lemminkäinen.

“For Etera, the construction of three office buildings is a large investment. The total cost will be around 200 million euro. There’s been surprisingly much interest in these buildings in the Töölönlahti Bay area. Renting a building like this is a unique opportunity for companies, because there is very little new, modern office space available in the centre of Helsinki. We believe that the new buildings in the centre of the city will retain their value and produce steady income also in future, which is important for a pension insurance company,” said Hannu Tarkkonen, Managing Director, Etera, at the cornerstone laying ceremony.

Alma Media’s office building is designed by JKMM Architects. Architectural competitions for two other Etera buildings are currently underway, with results expected this autumn.

“The architectural competitions aim at finding high-quality architectural and functional solutions. Even the name of the street, Alvar Aalto Street, is an obligation for us. Alma Media’s offices as well as the other Etera buildings will be constructed on a site that has a great importance for the cityscape. The new buildings also fulfil the ecological and environmental requirements Etera places on its real estate investments,” Mr Tarkkonen emphasised.

Alma Media has for a long time been looking to locate all its personnel in Helsinki, more than 500 professionals, in the same place.

“Strong internal collaboration is one of the key factors in Alma Media’s success. Moving all our personnel in Helsinki under one roof in the end of 2012 will allow a whole new level of collaboration capabilities,” said Kai Telanne, President and CEO, Alma Media.

“We are very glad that Alma Media had the opportunity to become a part of the national landscape of Töölönlahti Bay, right in the middle of the capital and served by excellent traffic connections . We will also have an effect on the design of the building from our own perspective, that of a constantly renewing media company of the future, and respect the environment,” Mr Telanne continued.

The Alma Media office building will have five storeys with approximately 10,000 square metres of office space. Lemminkäinen will also build two blocks of flats right across the Alvar Aalto Street from the Alma Media building.

“The site is a very demanding one, and the construction has required cooperation between a number of parties. Everything has gone well. We also hope that the infrastructure of the area will be completed at the same pace with the construction schedule,” said Timo Kohtamäki, President and CEO, Lemminkäinen.

More information:

Hannu Tarkkonen, Managing Director, Etera, tel. +358 10 553 3200 or +358 40 594 9173

Timo Sotavalta, Head of Real Estate, Etera,  tel. +358 40 732 5577

Kai Telanne, President and CEO, Alma Media Corporation, tel. +358 10 665 3500

Timo Kohtamäki, President and CEO, Lemminkäinen Corporation, tel. +358 2071 53263

 

Etera:

Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company provides private-sector employees and self-employed persons with pension cover while promoting wellbeing at work. The company’s premium income in the first half of 2011 was €276 million. The company insures 163,000 employees. Etera pays out pensions in the amount of more than €1 billion in 2011. Etera secures its pension funds through investments, now totalling €5.5 billion, of which €745 million are invested in real estate. Read more at www.etera.fi

 

Alma Media:

Alma Media is a dynamic media company whose best-known products are the Aamulehti, Iltalehti, Kauppalehti and Etuovi.com. Alma Media employs nearly 2,800 professionals. The company’s net sales in 2010 totalled €311.4 million with an operating margin of 13.9 per cent. Alma Media’s share (ALN1V) is listed in the Mid Cap segment of the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.fi

 

Lemminkäinen:

Lemminkäinen Group operates in all areas of the construction sector.Its business sectors are building construction, infrastructure construction and technical building services. Net sales in 2010 were approximately €2 billion, of which international operations accounted for over a quarter. The Group employs an average of 8,000 people.Lemminkäinen Corporation’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.lemminkainen.fi 

 

 

 

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