Stockmann sells Tallinn, Riga outlets for €87 million

Retailer Stockmann has sold its Tallinn department store to the investment arm of energy conglomerate Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG). The change in ownership does not affect the store's day-to-day business or branding.
The total sale price of the Tallinn store, on Liivalaia and Ravala in the city center, along with the Stockmann outlet in Riga, also sold to VKG, is reported at €87 million.
Stockmann is set to use the proceeds to reduce debt burdens, the company told the Tallinn stock exchange, and will remain a tenant in its Tallinn and Riga properties.
Stockmann's flagship department store on Aleksanterinkatu in central Helsinki is also on track to be sold. The company has five more stores in its home country, including one each in Turku and Tampere.
The Tallinn branch of Stockmann was opened in 1996, expanding to its current five-storey dimensions four years later.
The Riga department store on 13. janvāra iela was opened more recently, in 2003.
The Tallinn store hosts 22,280 sq. m of retail space; the Riga outlet, 15,965 sq. m.
VKG Invest is an independent investment component of VKG, and invests in areas, primarily real estate, not directly related to the group's core business, namely oil shale industry, power generation, and public utility companies.
The original Stockmann dates back to 1862, when Georg Franz Stockmann, general manager of an existing store in the Finnish capital, then part of the Russian Empire, took full ownership.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Andrew Whyte