Kesko Group's real estate operations to be reorganised

Kesko Group's real estate operations will be reorganised by transferring the steering of real estate investments and the profit responsibility for real estate throughout their whole life cycle to the division parent companies. The plan is also to transfer those real estate operations relating to the store site process that are still centralised to the division parent companies.

According to the plan, a small corporate level steering and service unit, the Real Estate Services Department, is established for steering the real estate function of the Group on a general level by preparing, for the approval of the Group management, the general principles and return requirements to be applied in real estate activities among other things. In addition, the department will answer, in a centralised way, for construction projects and real estate administration outside Finland.

After the plans have been completed, the reorganisation will also be submitted to the Kesko Real Estate personnel for assessment in a formal cooperation procedure. The planned arrangements are not expected to have any significant effect on the number of employees. Kesko Real Estate currently employs about 50 persons.

The new Real Estate Services Department will be headed by Tapio Erme, LL.M., MBA, as from 1 May 2005. On 17 March 2005, Senior Vice President Terho Kalliokoski, M.Sc. (Econ.), currently in charge of Kesko Real Estate, was appointed as Kesko Food Ltd's President as from 1 May 2005.

Kesko's business divisions were organised into subsidiaries in 2001, when Kesko Food Ltd, Rautakesko Ltd, Kesko Agro Ltd and Keswell Ltd were established. At that time, real estate operations were organised into a single unit, operating in a centralised manner directly under the Group management.

Further information:
Vice President Tapio Erme, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 22016