Statoil Fuel & Retail sells its Schweigaardsgate 16 property in Oslo

"We are pleased with the agreement," says Sonja Horn, project owner, Statoil Fuel & Retail. "Entra Eiendom is a solid, professional real estate developer who will add value both to the project and the local community. We look forward to moving into a modern, environmentally-friendly and flexible building, tailored to our needs."

Statoil Fuel & Retail's strategy is to create value through real estate asset management. It is not strategically important for the company to own its planned European headquarters and the sale releases capital to be reinvested in the company's core business.

Statoil Fuel & Retail was acquired by Canadian company Couche-Tard before the summer of 2012. The company's European headquarters will continue to be in Oslo and the new office building at Schweigaardsgate 16 will be shared with the company's Norwegian business unit.

The project to build the planned eight-storey building has the ambition to achieve "excellent" status according to the BREEAM classification system. To maintain the best possible sunlight conditions for Teaterplassen, the neighbouring square, some of the originally-designed volume has been redistributed, making the building appear to step down towards the square. The quality of the square will be improved when the building is finished. It will become about 25 percent larger than it is today and a new passage through the building will connect Teaterplassen with the adjacent Stasjonsalmenningen.

Statoil Fuel & Retail has received the required building and demolition permits from the Norwegian Planning and Building Services (Plan- og bygningsetaten). Demolition of the existing building on the property begins this week. The company plans to move into its new headquarters in the first half of 2015.