Northern European financial and real estate consultancy firm Newsec said on Monday that it has been appointed to manage a EUR 145 mln real estate portfolio throughout the Nordic and the Baltic regions.

The portfolio, which is owned by a Norwegian group of investment funds headed by chairman John Afseth, consists of a total of 36 properties, comprising 23 Norfa and nine Maxima supermarkets, three logistics centres near Vilnius and the Durapart factory in Panevezys. The portfolio also includes the two-hectare site of the former Tauro brewery in central Vilnius, where plans are to build a 40,000-m2 commercial and residential complex.

'The global economic crisis had a negative effect on the returns achieved by Norwegian investors in the Baltic countries,' said John Afseth. 'In order to rebuild investors' trust in Lithuania and the whole Baltic region, we were therefore looking for an active manager that would increase the value of our portfolio.'

Newsec currently manages a total of 115 commercial properties with 620,000 m2 in the Baltic countries.

Ričardas Čepas, manager of Newsec Baltics, said that the real estate market in the Baltics is becoming more professional, with companies starting to look for specialised real estate management partners. 'This contract is yet another proof that the time for real estate experiments in the Baltics is over.'