Kapitel, co-owner of shopping centers Spice and Spice Home, and co-investors acquire Viru Keskus mall in Tallinn

Company Kapitel, which owns 28% of shares in the renovated Viru Keskus shopping center, will acquire the remaining 72% from Pontos Group, together with Tristafan and another financial investor. The transaction, signed in early December, will come into force in the coming months, subject to the fulfilment of the pre-conditions, including the approval of the Competition Authority. The parties have not disclosed the transaction price. Kapitel also owns stakes in the Spice and Spice Home shopping centers.

“Since its opening in 2004, we have been developing the Viru Keskus shopping center in cooperation with Pontos. Acquiring the majority share from them is a logical step for us. We will continue to develop the center in cooperation with our long-term partner Tristafan, and shortly afterwards a financial investor will join the ownership. The professional team of Viru Keskus will continue under the leadership of CEO Gertti Kogermann,” says Taavi Ojala, Chairman of the Management Board of Kapitel and a Member of the Supervisory Board of Viru Keskus. “Completed in May this year, the multi-year refurbishment project has resulted in the renewal of 86 stores and 90 percent of the center’s premises. Viru Keskus invested nearly EUR 20 million and the center’s tenants contributed an additional EUR 15 million to renovate their stores. In the near future, we plan to renew the outdoor areas around the center simultaneously with the construction of a new tramway and repairing the adjacent roads and streets,” Ojala said.

The acquisition of Viru Keskus is an important step for the Group in its expansion in the Baltic retail sector, becoming more prominent, influential and cohesive. Kapitel and Tristafan previously invested EUR 9 million in Spice to carry out the largest renovation of the shopping center’s interior to date. The project involved renovation of 7,565 square meters of common areas at Spice. Furthermore, 28 new brands have joined Spice over the last two years, covering an area of more than 3,500 square meters. Since 2022, 30 stores at Spice have been renovated, their total renovated retail space is over 14,000 square meters. At the moment, Spice shopping center features the largest Sportland sporting goods store in Latvia, as well as the newest Zara and Reserved concept stores.

In the meantime, five new tenants have joined Spice Home, with a total area of more than 4,200 square meters. These include a new concept store of Euronics Group, German domestic appliances brand Miele’s first store at a Latvian shopping center, and MyFitness, a modern sports and active recreation club.