Meyer Bergman Fund Sells High Street Property in Central Oslo to Canica Eiendom

Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners II, the value-add fund established and advised by the London-based firm, acquired the 6,500 square metre Grensen 17 building in late 2014. Grensen is the street that runs parallel to Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s prime retail destination running through the centre of the Promenaden Fashion District.

The asset has been fully renovated and refurbished throughout the course of 2017, with works completed in early 2018. The scope of works included the reconfiguration of office space to prime specification and a comprehensive restoration of the building’s façade and interior. Vacancy has been eliminated and more retail space has been created, as well as installing a new copper roof cladding. Ground floor stores has been divided to create three smaller, more flexible retail units, which it leased to Pink Fish, Normal and Cutters. The top five floors of the building serve as office space.

Akershus Eiendom acted as sole manager on the transaction, while Thommessen and Haavind acted as legal advisors for Meyer Bergman and Canica Eiendom respectively.

Meyer Bergman Ltd. is a privately held real estate investment management firm specialising in urban, mixed-use investments. It advises three closed-ended, value-add real estate funds totalling circa €6 billion of assets on behalf of global institutional investors. The firm is headquartered in London. Meyer Bergman targets under-managed or under-utilised properties across major markets in Europe and the United States, typically in off-market transactions sourced through its extensive network. It manages these actively to deliver attractive returns to its investors, which include leading pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and asset managers.

Canica Eiendom is the real estate arm of Canica; one of the largest privately-owned investment companies in Norway. Part from its real estate operations, Canica’s focus is active, long-term ownership, active primarily within sectors covering retail, fast moving consumer goods and manufacturing. Investments include the listed branded consumer goods company Orkla ASA, Jernia, and Komplett Group among others.