AS Hortes, Livonia Partners portfolio company, has sold its real estate property in Laagri to a public closed-end alternative investment fund EfTEN Real Estate Fund III in a sale-and-leaseback transaction with a long-term rental contract.
Hortes is Estonia’s leading retail brand for garden and home products and biggest garden centre in the Baltics delivering an inspirational shopping experience in spacious glass-structure premises. Hortes offers the Baltic region’s broadest selection of indoor and outdoor plants, gardening tools and supplies, as well as home and pet products.
Livonia Partners acquired AS Hortes in November 2016. “Together with Hortes management we have been working on enhancing shareholders value of Hortes and the sale-and-leaseback is the first major milestone in converting the company into an asset-light operating model,” says Kristīne Bērziņa, a founding partner at Livonia.
“Our strategy is to focus on the development of the retail business. The Hortes retail concept has proven itself and we are ready to expand our business faster,” says CEO of Hortes AS, Kristian Kalgan, who has led the company since 2007.
According to EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS’ fund manager Viljar Arakas, the investment with great location, attractive lessee with long term contract, sustainable rent level and appropriate yield fits perfectly with their fund’s portfolio. „Hortes is a unique kind of retailer having widely recognised brand name and strong market presence in Tallinn. EfTEN is happy to start the cooperation with Hortes and looking forward to expanding that to new location as well,“ added Arakas.
Hortes gardening centre property was constructed in 2006, located on the outskirts of Tallinn in Laagri. The property is 15 598 square metres in total with 3 470 square metre glass-covered building and an outdoor sales area and a parking lot with 146 parking spaces.
For further information contact:
Kristīne Bērziņa, Partner, Livonia Partners, +371 2834 4808 kristine.berzina@livoniapartners.com
Kristian Kalgan, CEO, Trigon Gardening AS +372 515 5443
kristian@hortes.ee
Livonia Partners is a private equity investment firm based in the Baltics, currently managing €83 million as part of the Livonia Partners Fund I and the Livonia Partners EIF Co-Investment Fund. Run by founders Kaido Veske, Kristīne Bērziņa, Rain Lõhmus, and Mindaugas Utkevičius, its investors are domestic and international financial institutions. Livonia was partly originated through the Baltic Innovation Fund (BIF), a common initiative of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and the European Investment Fund.
Hortes, operated by AS Hortes, is Estonia’s leading retail brand for home and garden products. It runs the largest modern home and garden centre in Estonia and has the Baltic region’s broadest selection of indoor and outdoor plants, gardening tools and supplies, as well as home and pet products.