direct/ Glitnir (IS) - New, leading Nordic commercial real estate advisor formed: Glitnir Property Group and Leimdörfer create leading Nordic real estate adviser

Stockholm/Oslo/Reykjavik - 17 April 2007 - The leading Nordic commercial real estate adviser, Glitnir Property Holding, is created through the combination of the Norwegian Glitnir Property Group (the parent company of Glitnir Næringsmegling AS, Glitnir Real Estate AS and UNION Eiendomskapital AS, former UNION GRUPPEN) based in Oslo and the Swedish real estate adviser Leimdörfer with offices in Stockholm and Helsinki, Finland. This is one important step in the strategy to become the leading commercial real estate advisor in the Nordic market. The new entity will be owned by Glitnir banki hf (Glitnir) (70 percent) and the former partners of UNION Gruppen, Union Eiendomskapital and Leimdörfer (30 percent). The combined proforma value of Glitnir Property Group´s and Leimdörfer´s transactions in 2006 was approx. EUR 5 billion.

Leimdörfer is a leading Swedish real estate adviser operating in the Nordic property market. The company was founded in 1992 and has 40 employees. Leimdörfer has very successfully focused on four business areas; brokerage, corporate finance, financing advisory and strategic advisory.

Glitnir Property Group is located in Oslo and is the leading Norwegian real estate adviser and successfully focuses on brokerage, syndication and financing advisory. The company owns Glitnir Norsk Næringsmegling AS, UNION Eiendomskapital AS and Glitnir Real Estate AS. Glitnir Norsk Næringsmegling is the leading Norwegian real estate brokerage firm. UNION Eiendomskapital manages real estate funds and syndicated projects with assets of approx. EUR 1 billion, with the largest fund under management being Storebrand Eiendomsfond.

The formation of the new entity is the result of a process where the Norwegian company Glitnir Property Holding AS, the parent company of Glitnir Property Group, has entered into an agreement to acquire 91 percent of the shares in the Swedish company Leimdörfer Holding AB. The purchase of Leimdörfer is done by a combination of cash settlement and an issue of new shares in Glitnir Property Holding AS. The price paid does not materially affect the financial situation of Glitnir banki hf. Peter Leimdörfer will be the Managing Director of the new company and Frank O. Reite will be the Chairman of the board.

"We have clearly stated our intention to grow in the real estate market. The merger between Glitnir Property Group and Leimdörfer is further proof of this strategy. Glitnir is already a strong, established player in the Norwegian real estate market. The merger with Leimdörfer will consolidate our position as adviser in the Swedish and Finnish real estate markets. By joining forces with Leimdörfer, we aim to expand both our services and geographical scope in the Nordic real estate markets", said Bjarni Ármannsson, CEO of Glitnir.

"The Swedish market is one of the most active in Europe and is highly interesting, but as it is dominated by a few domestic players, it has been very difficult to gain significant entrance", says Lars P. Fasting, partner in the new entity. "By joining forces with Leimdörfer, our clients will be able to take advantage of Leimdörfer´s substantial research capability, strong execution ability and impressive international network".

"Joining forces with a proactive financial group like Glitnir, with a strong presence in all Nordic countries and a global network in banking and finance, will provide us with the opportunity to offer our clients even better advisory services in cross border transactions", says Peter Leimdörfer that will take on the role as Managing Director in the new entity. "Further, Glitnir´s significant financial strength will enable us to expand into new markets".

The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction. The transaction is planned to be completed by the end of May and is subject to regulatory approvals in Sweden and Iceland.

For more information:
Peter Leimdörfer, Managing Director and partner, Glitnir Property Holding,
mobile +46 70 567 91 44, e-mail: peter.leimdorfer@leimdorfer.se
Bjørn Richard Johansen, Managing Director, Corporate Communication, Glitnir,
e-mail: brj@glitnir.no, mobile +47 47 800 100

For photos, please contact: akj@glitnir.no

Leimdörfer and Glitnir Property Group
http://hugin.info/133924/R/1119043/205352.jpg

About Glitnir
The financial group Glitnir offers universal banking and is a leading niche player in three global segments; seafood/food, sustainable energy, and offshore services vessels. Glitnir considers Iceland and Norway its home markets. Services include retail, corporate and investment banking, stock trade and capital management. Glitnir is the sole owner of a bank in Luxembourg (Glitnir Bank Luxembourg S.A) and banks and financial services companies in Norway (BNbank, Glitnir Bank ASA, Glitnir Securities, Glitnir Factoring and Glitnir Property Holding (with partners). Glitnir´s subsidiary BNbank owns 45 percent of the shares in Norsk Privatøkonomi ASA, an independent financial advisory company with 14 branches in key areas of Norway). In Sweden, Glitnir owns the leading Swedish brokerage firm Glitnir AB. The group also recently acquired 68.1 percent of the shares in the leading Finnish asset management company FIM, with operations around Finland and in Stockholm and Moscow. (Glitnir has made a tender offer for all shares in FIM). Glitnir operates branches in London and Copenhagen. The group has representative offices in Halifax, Canada and Shanghai, China, and plans to open an office in New York in 2007. Glitnir is listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange. Glitnir closed the books for 2006 with a record profit and a return on equity after tax of 39.4 percent. For more information: www.glitnirbank.com

About Leimdörfer
Leimdörfer is a leading advisor in the Nordic property market. Since Leimdörfer was founded in 1992, the company has built a solid track record of successfully executed transactions in the Nordic property market. By combining cutting edge financial skills with in-depth insight into the Nordic property market, Leimdörfer offers a unique set of property related financial and strategic advisory services. Leimdörfer offers advisory services across the following areas: Property Transactions (EUR 13+ billion in successfully executed property transactions), Corporate Finance (lead financial advisor in 10 of the last 18 public-to-private property transactions in Sweden), Property Financing (EUR 1+ billion of financing arranged), Strategic Advisory (25+ independent advisory mandates since 2000), Leimdörfer operates in the Nordic property markets, with offices in Stockholm and Helsinki and a team of 40 employees. For more information: www.leimdorfer.com.

About Glitnir Property Group
Glitnir Property Group is located in Oslo and is the leading Norwegian real estate adviser and successfully focuses on brokerage, syndication and financing advisory. The company owns Glitnir Norsk Næringsmegling AS, UNION Eiendomskapital AS and Glitnir Real Estate AS, with a total of 30 employees. Glitnir Norsk Næringsmegling, with 17 employees, is the leading Norwegian real estate brokerage firm. The company acted as advisor in transactions totaling approximately EUR 1.5 billion in 2006, and had a turnover of EUR 18 million. UNION Eiendomskapital manages one of Norway´s largest real estate funds, Storebrand Eiendomsfond and have a total under property fund management of approximately EURO 1 billion. UNION Eiendomskapital has 10 employees and had a turnover of EUR 7 million in 2006.

From the left:

- Sven Dahlin, Per Erlandsson, Peter Leimdörfer (Managing Director) from Leimdörfer. Frank O. Reite (Chairman of the board) from Glitnir. Lars Fasting, Øystein Landvik and Knut Stokke from Glitnir Property Group.

http://www.glitnir.is

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