Senate Properties
Encyclopedia
Senate Properties is a Finnish
unincorporated
state-owned enterprise, which manages
a major part of the real estate
assets owned by the Republic of Finland.
and Swedish
are listed in the table below), established 3 September 1811, the goal of which was to supervise the planning of government buildings. In 1865, the name was changed to the Board of Public Buildings; and in 1936 to the National Board of Public Building. In 1995, the National Board of Public Building — which was a government agency
managing state property — was dissolved. Facility management
operations were incorporated
into Engel kiinteistöpalveluyhtymä Oy, which was fully privatized in 2004, the buyer being ISS A/S
. The majority of the state property assets were transferred into the newly formed State Real Property Agency. The purpose of this agency was to manage the state property which was deemed to be in permanent use.
On 1 January 1999, a heterogeneous collection of government real estate worth 1.3 billion
EUR was transferred from various government-owned companies and government agencies — including the State Real Property Agency — and incorporated
into Kapiteeli Oy. The transfer consisted of buildings deemed redundant from the government perspective. This included former school buildings, empty government buildings, railway stations fallen into disuse, and other buildings that were considered unnecessary for the government to own, such as post offices and hotels. Part of this property was developed
and sold on the market between 1999 and 2006. Kapiteeli was privatized in September 2006. The single buyer, Sponda Oyj, paid 950 million EUR
for 100% of Kapiteeli's stock
.
Also on 1 January 1999, the State Real Property Agency was transformed from being a government agency
into being an unincorporated state-owned enterprise. During the same year, several culturally significant properties were transferred to the State Real Property Agency, including the Ateneum
, Kiasma
, and the Finnish National Opera Building
.
On March 1, 2001, the name of the State Real Property Agency was changed to Senate Properties. The name-change required a change in law because the State Real Property Agency was a state enterprise under Finnish public law
, and such entities could not change their name via registration as in the private sector
. The purpose with the name-change was to improve the corporate image
by having a name reflecting both traditions and modern business philosophy. The new name also refers to the Helsinki Senate Square
, where several nearby buildings are managed by Senate Properties.
s totaling 51.5 billion
EUR
. Of these assets, 3.8 billion were held in Senate Properties; consisting of 2.6 billion EUR as equity capital, and 1.2 billion as long-term loan
s. In addition to the equity capital and loans by the Finnish government, Senate Properties had 0.8 billion in retained earnings
, and external financing amounting to 1.2 billion from financial institution
s. Its balance sheet
totaled 5.9 billion at the end of 2008.
companies — recognized as Finland's top reporter of issues related to the environment and to corporate social responsibility
.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
unincorporated
Unincorporated entity
An unincorporated entity is an entity that has the same characteristics as a company but is not incorporated. It is also sometimes called a voluntary association....
state-owned enterprise, which manages
Property management
Property management is the operation, control of ususally on behalf of an owner, and oversight of commercial, industrial or residential real estate as used in its most broad terms. Management indicates a need to be cared for, monitored and accountability given for its usable life and condition...
a major part of the real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
assets owned by the Republic of Finland.
History
Senate Properties descends from the Office of the Intendant (corresponding names in FinnishFinnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
are listed in the table below), established 3 September 1811, the goal of which was to supervise the planning of government buildings. In 1865, the name was changed to the Board of Public Buildings; and in 1936 to the National Board of Public Building. In 1995, the National Board of Public Building — which was a government agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
managing state property — was dissolved. Facility management
Facility management
Facility management is an interdisciplinary field primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such as hospitals, hotels, office complexes, arenas, schools or convention centers...
operations were incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
into Engel kiinteistöpalveluyhtymä Oy, which was fully privatized in 2004, the buyer being ISS A/S
ISS A/S
ISS was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1901 and has since grown to become one of the leading Facility Services companies in the world. ISS offers a wide range of services within the following business areas: cleaning services, support services, property services, catering services, security...
. The majority of the state property assets were transferred into the newly formed State Real Property Agency. The purpose of this agency was to manage the state property which was deemed to be in permanent use.
On 1 January 1999, a heterogeneous collection of government real estate worth 1.3 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
EUR was transferred from various government-owned companies and government agencies — including the State Real Property Agency — and incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
into Kapiteeli Oy. The transfer consisted of buildings deemed redundant from the government perspective. This included former school buildings, empty government buildings, railway stations fallen into disuse, and other buildings that were considered unnecessary for the government to own, such as post offices and hotels. Part of this property was developed
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
and sold on the market between 1999 and 2006. Kapiteeli was privatized in September 2006. The single buyer, Sponda Oyj, paid 950 million EUR
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
for 100% of Kapiteeli's stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
.
Also on 1 January 1999, the State Real Property Agency was transformed from being a government agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
into being an unincorporated state-owned enterprise. During the same year, several culturally significant properties were transferred to the State Real Property Agency, including the Ateneum
Ateneum
The Ateneum is a major museum in Finland. It is located in the centre of Helsinki at the Rautatientori square opposite Helsinki Central Railway Station. It has the biggest collections of classical art in Finland. Previously the Ateneum building also housed the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and...
, Kiasma
Kiasma
Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990...
, and the Finnish National Opera Building
Finnish National Opera
The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
.
On March 1, 2001, the name of the State Real Property Agency was changed to Senate Properties. The name-change required a change in law because the State Real Property Agency was a state enterprise under Finnish public law
Public law
Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
, and such entities could not change their name via registration as in the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. The purpose with the name-change was to improve the corporate image
Corporate image
A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a company stands for. Marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public...
by having a name reflecting both traditions and modern business philosophy. The new name also refers to the Helsinki Senate Square
Helsinki Senate Square
The Senate Square presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki, Finland.-Construction:...
, where several nearby buildings are managed by Senate Properties.
| Organizational lineage of Senate Properties | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Finnish Finnish language Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a... |
Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... |
| 1811–1865 | Office of the Intendant | Intendentinkonttori | Intendentkontoret |
| 1865–1936 | Board of Public Building | Yleisten rakennusten ylihallitus | Överstyrelsen för allmänna byggnader |
| 1936–1995 | National Board of Public Buildings | Rakennushallitus | Byggnadsstyrelsen |
| 1995–2001 | State Real Property Agency | Valtion kiinteistölaitos | Statens fastighetsverk(note) |
| 2001→ | Senate Properties | Senaatti-kiinteistöt | Senatfastigheter |
| Note: There is also a government agency in Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... called Statens Fastighetsverk, which handles functions similar to its Finnish counterpart. |
|||
Legal status
Senate Properties is an unincorporated, fully state-owned enterprise . It is unincorporated in the sense that Senate Properties is not a legal person separate from the State, and compared to incorporated companies, the organization has limited jurisdiction over its activities. Finnish government organizations of this type are governed by the Unincorporated State Enterprise Act of 2002 (Laki Valtion Liikelaitoksista (in Finnish)).Finance
At the end of 2008, the Finnish government held assetAsset
In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...
s totaling 51.5 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
EUR
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
. Of these assets, 3.8 billion were held in Senate Properties; consisting of 2.6 billion EUR as equity capital, and 1.2 billion as long-term loan
Loan
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
s. In addition to the equity capital and loans by the Finnish government, Senate Properties had 0.8 billion in retained earnings
Retained earnings
In accounting, retained earnings refers to the portion of net income which is retained by the corporation rather than distributed to its owners as dividends. Similarly, if the corporation takes a loss, then that loss is retained and called variously retained losses, accumulated losses or...
, and external financing amounting to 1.2 billion from financial institution
Financial institution
In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...
s. Its balance sheet
Balance sheet
In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership or a company. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A...
totaled 5.9 billion at the end of 2008.
Development projects
- Large state office building in HakaniemiHakaniemiHakaniemi is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It is considered a part of the Helsinki city center. Historically, it was often associated with the working class and worker's associations. However, the cost of living has risen considerably in recent years and is now on par...
. - Töölönlahti land areas.
General information
In 2007, Senate Properties was — out of 29 large FinnishFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
companies — recognized as Finland's top reporter of issues related to the environment and to corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
.
External links
- Senate Properties — Official website