View of the construction progress, including the harbour area, at the Andfjord Salmon site in Kvalnes, Andøya, Norway.
Photo: Andfjord Salmon Group.
Andfjord Salmon Group announced today the completion of the sale of the harbour area of its site in Kvalnes, Andøya, Norway, where the company has its land-based flow-through aquaculture facility. The transaction was closed for a total of NOK 400 million (EUR 34.6 million / USD 39.7 million) in gross proceeds.
The harbour property has now been spun off from Andfjord Salmon, although its new owner, Norwegian industrial real estate firm Asset Buyout Partners (ABP), will lease it back to the land-based salmon company on an 80-year contract at 7.5 % yield, adjusted to the consumer price index (CPI).
"We are pleased to complete this transaction with ABP. The sale-leaseback is an integral part of our total financing package for the Kvalnes site, where salmon production is set to re-commence September this year," said Martin Rasmussen, CEO of Andfjord Salmon.
The NOK 400 million raised from the sale of the Kvalnes harbour area is now in addition to the NOK 600 million it raised in February through a private placement, and the NOK 400 million it secured subsequently by issuing more than 10 million new shares to several existing shareholders, to fund part of the updated CAPEX as a result of rising construction costs, which caused the company to report no revenues in Q1 2025.
Nevertheless, despite these difficulties, during the first quarter of the year, Andfjord Salmon reported strong operational progress at its land-based flow-through aquaculture facility at Kvalnes, with construction work on several critical infrastructure components nearing completion.
As CEO Martin Rasmussen recalled today, the company plans to start smolt releases in September 2025, provided that the pond and technical infrastructure tests are successfully completed in July and August.
Andfjord Salmon site project in Kvalnes, with the harbour area marked on the left.
For his part, Asset Buyout Partners CEO William W. Wittusen welcomed the finalization of the agreement to acquire Andfjord Salmon's harbour facility in Andøya. "The harbour facility is mission critical for Andfjord Salmon and will further contribute to diversify ABP's portfolio in terms of geography, asset type and tenant exposure," he said.
"The transaction is a result of our long-term focus on the Norwegian aqua industry and increases ABP's presence in Northern Norway, which is a strategic region for ABP going forward," Wittusen added.
As part of that strategy, the company, a leading Norwegian industrial real estate firm with a specific investment strategy focused on mission-critical real estate and infrastructure located in major Norwegian energy and maritime clusters, acquired in April the ServiceNord Engros logistics facility in Harstad, also in northern Norway, which, as in the case of the Kvalnes harbour area, has also been leased back to its original owner under a long-term contract.