Sponda Plc Press release 11 May 2017 at 8:25 a.m.
Forum shopping centre selected as the Best Nordic Shopping Center 2017
Forum shopping centre was selected as the Best Shopping Center 2017 in the Nordic countries by the Nordic Council of Shopping Centers (NCSC) in Stockholm on 10 May 2017. Forum is owned by property investment company Sponda and located in the heart of Helsinki. Runners-up for the title of the Best Shopping Center were Jekta Storsenter in Norway and Metropol Shopping Center in Denmark. The title came to Finland for the first time. In October, the NCSC selected Forum also as the Best Shopping Center in Finland.
"Over the years, we have proven that continuous development can take us to the top of the Finnish and Nordic retail markets, although the competition is getting tighter and tighter. Being awarded the title of the Best Nordic Shopping Center is a great recognition for us and our tenants," says Lars Eklundh, Shopping Centre Manager at Forum.
According to the jury Forum has through its consistent development work over several years' maintained clear and strong position in its market. The jury's choice was based also on the fact that by caring for architecture while developing the centre and expanding and broaden the content-mix Forum has gained an even stronger position to meet its future challenges. Also implemented refurbishment and development projects have had an impressive execution. Forum's active work for finding jobs to young people was praised by the jury.
Forum is one of Finland's largest and busiest shopping centres, with nearly 15 million visitors a year. The shopping centre includes a total of 140 shops with combined annual sales of approximately EUR 217 million.
When it was established in 1952, Forum shopping centre was one of the first shopping centres in Finland. It received a major extension in 1985. The four strong cornerstones of the shopping centre are fashion, sports and leisure, cafés and restaurants, as well as electronics and home appliances.
Forum underwent a major extension and renovation project worth EUR 50 million in 2012-2015. "The modernisation was clearly successful, as sales and customer volumes have increased immensely and the shopping centre is now fully leased," Eklundh says.
In addition to Forum, Sponda owns five other shopping centres in Finland. The total leasable area in the shopping centres is approximately 202,000 m2 and they are located in the Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu regions. The new Ratina Shopping Centre will open in central Tampere in spring 2018.
Sponda Plc
Additional information: Lars Eklundh, Shopping Centre Manager, +358 (0)500 458 694
Sponda Plc is a property investment company specialising in commercial properties in the largest cities in Finland. Sponda's business concept is to own, lease and develop retail and office properties and shopping centres into environments that promote the business success of its clients. The fair value of Sponda's investment properties is approximately EUR 3.8 billion and the leasable area is around 1.2 million m2.