SRV Yhtiöt Oyj: Implementation of SRV-developed Central Deck and Arena project in Tampere confirmed

Espoo, Finland, 2018-01-12 11:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
SRV GROUP PLC     INVESTOR NEWS     12 JANUARY 2018, AT 12.00

Implementation of SRV-developed Central Deck and Arena project in Tampere
confirmed 

The implementation of the SRV-developed Central Deck and Arena project, next to
the main railway station in Tampere city centre, has been confirmed. 

SRV and the project's investor partners LocalTapiola Group and OP Financial
Group's insurance and pension insurance companies signed the project's joint
venture agreement in October 2017. At the same time, SRV signed a shareholder
agreement for the multi-purpose arena with the City of Tampere on behalf of the
project company. The terms of agreement outlined in connection with these
signatures, namely a EUR 18 million state subsidy granted for the multi-purpose
arena as well as other preconditions, have finally been fulfilled and the
implementation of the project has been confirmed. In addition, on 12 January,
the joint venture company owned by SRV, the project's investor partners and the
City of Tampere, which will become the owner of the multi-purpose arena, signed
a financing agreement with the arena's finance providers Nordea, OP Tampere,
Handelsbanken and LocalTapiola (Enterprise Finance I Ky). 

"The Central Deck and Arena project has been a hot topic in plans and speeches
for a long time, and now we have received final confirmation of the project's
implementation. The project will change not only Finland's experience and
entertainment environment but, above all, Tampere's entire city centre and
service offering. The building of a new city district connecting the east and
west sides of the railway line will impact in many ways the lives of both city
residents and railway passengers, and during construction we aim to bring
people as close as possible to the site and the whole project through various
events and showrooms," says SRV Executive Vice President Timo Nieminen. 

The Central Deck and Arena project will connect the eastern and western sides
of Tampere, and the area will form a new kind of hybrid block, combining
housing, working premises and Finland's largest, approximately 13,000-capacity,
sports and events arena. The arena's restaurant services will be provided by
Restamax, and a Lapland Hotels hotel, to be built next to the arena, as well as
Veikkaus' second casino will provide other entertainment facilities. The local
Finnish Ice Hockey League teams Tappara and Ilves will play their home games in
the new arena from league season 2021-2022 onwards. In phase 1, a deck covering
the southern railway yard will be constructed and, on top of this, the arena, a
training hall, the hotel and two tower buildings. Phase 2 consists of a
northern deck and three tower buildings. In total, up to one thousand
apartments will be built in the project. 

"Preparatory work and test pilings already began at the railway yard at the end
of last year, and now, following the final confirmation of the project, the
pace of construction at the site will accelerate. The work stages under way
include bored piling work, strengthening the foundations of neighbouring
properties on Sorinkatu, constructing a support wall and excavating the
construction area. We will communicate weekly about the progress of
construction on the project's own website," says Henrik Eklund, SRV's Project
Director. 

The project's timetable and total value have been revised during planning.
According to the current timetable plan, the whole project will be completed in
2024. The project's total value has been revised to approximately EUR 550
million, of which the phase 1 investment agreement accounts for approximately
EUR 340 million. 

The value of the share of phase 1 agreements entered into SRV's order backlog
in 2017 is approximately EUR 210 million. In addition, a further approximately
EUR 130 million will be entered into SRV's order backlog in 2018 in connection
with the signing of the final contractor agreements. Revenue recognition for
phase 1 of the project will allocated in the years 2018-2022. A portion
equivalent to SRV's ownership share will be eliminated from the construction
profit margin recognised as construction progresses. 

The project's investor group consists of SRV, LocalTapiola and OP Financial
Group's insurance and pension insurance companies, each with equal
shareholdings. Together with the City of Tampere, the investor group will form
an arena consortium to develop the multi-purpose arena and training hall. The
City of Tampere will invest EUR 60 million in the project, most of which will
be allocated to the construction of the multi-purpose arena's deck and to the
city's share of the capitalisation of arena's real-estate company. The investor
group will also develop the other components of the project: the residential
towers, hotel, office and business premises, and parking facility. The package
also includes the development of six apartment buildings in Ranta-Tampella. 

For further information , please contact:

Timo Nieminen, Executive Vice President, SRV, tel. [phone],
[e-mail] 
Henrik Eklund, Project Director, SRV, tel. [phone],
[e-mail] 
Päivi Kauhanen, Senior Vice President, Communications, SRV, tel. [phone]
9560, [e-mail] 

Artist's impressions of the Central Deck and Arena project
Video of the Central Deck and Arena project

www.srv.fi/kansi-ja-areena
www.srv.fi

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