Citadele Bank and Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) have signed an agreement on a change of ownership for Citadele’s head office building.
The aim of Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) is to expand its investment portfolio in Riga, while Citadele continues to focus on its core business, while leaving the management of the head office in the hands of Real Estate professionals.
“By signing this agreement with Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V), we are concluding one of the largest real estate transactions in Riga. This agreement was reached after constructive negotiations with Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) where the process started with several potential investors expressing their interest to acquire the building,” explains Citadele Management Board Member Kaspars Jansons, who adds that the location of the headquarters of Citadele group and the branch will not change. The bank will continue to be the main tenant and service clients in 2A Republikas Laukums.
The total area of the building is more than 30,000 m2. The building combines panorama of Riga and historic territory. Citadele building consists of four identical modules and design roof gardens between them. There are different size of office and meeting spaces, as well as a Conference Hall - premises with modern equipment for conferences, forums and seminars for up to 200 people with the panoramic view of the Daugava River.
“For the past years Citadele has evaluated the possibility to sell its head quarter and in parallel the bank has also reviewed its future set-up in terms of office needs. Having realized that there were several potential buyers and also realizing that the dynamic of office space will change in terms of set-up and design, the bank decided that this was a good time to divest. In Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) we felt that we have a good partner to work with when evolving our future office set-up. The transaction will allow us to even further deploy our resources towards our core business, which is supporting the local community with financial services,” adds Citadele CEO Johan Åkerblom.
In March this year, Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) also purchased the 22,700 m2 IBC business centre in Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius.
“The Fund’s strategic aim is to invest in environmentally-friendly, sustainable and valuable real estate objects by balancing risk and profit. The Business Centre we purchased in Riga will strengthen our investment portfolio, creating long-term value for our investors,” explains Marius Junda, Manager of Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V).
According to Marius Junda, the aim of the fund is to concentrate on investments in the Baltic capitals, mainly investing in already finished and profitable ventures.
About Lords LB Asset Management
The closed-end real estate investment fund Lords LB Baltic Green Fund (V) is managed by Lords LB Asset Management – a premier provider of investment management services to institutional clients and high net worth individuals. Established in 2008, Lords LB Asset Management focuses on real estate and private equity investment strategies. The company currently manages 15 funds: 12 real estate funds, 2 private capital funds and 1 energy and infrastructure fund. The total value of assets managed by the funds reached more than 605 million Euro at the end of June 2020.
About Citadele Bank
Citadele’s mission is to modernise the banking sector and offer more opportunities to clients and businesses throughout the Baltics.
Alongside classic banking services, Citadele offers its clients a range of services based on next-generation financial technology, including its modern app, contactless payments and instant payments, and finally, being the first in the Baltics to introduce opening an account with a selfie, payment rings and payments to mobile numbers.
Citadele is the second largest bank in Latvia by assets. The Citadele group is managed from Latvia. Its subsidiaries and branches operate in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.