SEB Latvia to finance construction of IKEA store in Latvia

Developer of the international home furnishing products brand IKEA in Latvia, company Verus Praedium and SEB Latvia have signed a long term loan agreement of EUR 35.4 million for construction of IKEA store near Riga.

The company intends to start construction works in Stopini, around 8 kilometres east of downtown Riga this summer. The commercial space will be 34 000 square meters. The store will be opened next fall and will create around 300 new jobs.

Sigurdur Palmason of Verus Praedium: “Opening an IKEA store in a new country is a long-term commitment and bears the responsibility to contribute in development of our brand vision – to create a better everyday life for the many people.  We are very pleased to partner with SEB in Latvia, a Latvian company that also has Swedish roots and traditions”.

Ints Krasts, board member of SEB Latvia: “IKEA is one of the global leaders in furniture and household goods area with an excellent reputation and highest quality standards. Therefore we are glad for this opportunity to contribute towards making IKEA's offer conveniently available for customers in Latvia. The company has chosen a well-advised business strategy and the Latvian people will benefit from the increase of quality competition in the home furnishing market”.

The first IKEA store in Baltic States was opened in 2013, near Vilnius airport in Lithuania. In terms of size the store in Riga will be larger than IKEA Vilnius by about a third, and will offer a wider range of merchandise. In case of necessity, it will be possible to increase the area of Riga store by about 6000 square meters. In future the company also plans to establish several merchandise pick-up points outside Riga, where customers will be able to collect their purchases from IKEA.

The Swedish furniture and household goods company IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad. Presently IKEA manages more than 400 stores in almost 50 countries across the globe, and around 10% of stores are managed by franchise companies.