History of SATO
Over eight decades of expertize in housing
- In autumn 2025 SATO will celebrate its 85th anniversary. In today’s increasingly urban and multicultural Finland, SATO provides 44,000 residents with a safe, comfortable, and responsible way to live.
- SATO is recognised for the third time as one of Finland’s best workplaces. Employees enjoy working at SATO.
- In spring 2025 SATO's webshop is launched. The new service responds to growing customer demand and changes in the market. Webshops have established themselves as a key channel for renting homes.
- At the end of 2024 the last new-build projects for the time being is completed on Peijinkuja in Espoo. The market remains challenging, and conditions are not favourable for launching new construction projects. Residential construction in Finland is at a record-low level.
- Sustainability is playing an increasingly central role in SATO’s strategy. In 2024, SATO publishes its carbon roadmap, which guides the company’s efforts towards carbon neutralilty by the end of 2030 in terms of in-use energy consumption. Biodiversity also becomes a key focus on the company’s agenda.
- In spring 2023 SATO completes its Russian divestment and from thereon operates only in Finland.
- In autumn 2022 a decision is made to refrain from launching new-build projects. New rental homes will be built once the market and demand recover.
- In spring 2022 SATO sells 2,009 rental apartments to a Swedish real estate investor Heimstaden. The properties sold in this transaction are located in Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä, Lahti, Oulu, Vihti and Ylöjärvi. SATO's homes are now mostly located in Helsinki MA, Tampere, and Turku.
- SATO's new strategy is presented on fall 2021. The three focal points of the new strategy are customer experience, sustainability, and personnel.
- SATO House Expert concept, piloted in 2019, is expanded. In 2021 SATO House Experts are a familiar face for over 20,000 SATO residents.
- The very first SATO FlexHomes are ready to move in on June 2020. SATO FlexHome is a new short-term ownership concept that enables home ownership with a small initial capital outlay and a five-year part-ownership period.
- SATO Customer Service centre opens to give centralised customer care 020 334 443.
- Interest in interior decoration is on the rise and customers come to expect higher standards in space design and furnishings in the home. SATO responds to this trend by upping its investment in the space and materials design of renovations and new construction. SATO hires its first Design Manager.
- Kotona customer magazine and SATO Annual Report win accolades – Kotona is awarded honourable mention at the International Customer Publishing Awards 2010 while the Annual Report takes first place not once but twice in the Finnish Association of Communications Professionals' Best Annual Reports Awards, in the non-listed company category.
- SATO tenants gain access to top-speed fibre optic internet as well as broadband and TV services from Sonera (now known as Telia, currently 24,000 SATOhomes have the service (Feb/2021))
- Major joint undertakings with other operators include: Perkkaa/Vermonniitty district in Espoo, Telakkaranta in Turku and Keimolanmäki in Vantaa.
- The city of Vantaa gave us a special permission to construct the very first SATO StudioHome apartment building in Martinlaakso.
- In 2016, SATO made record high investments of nearly EUR 600 million to increase its apartment stock. Most of the investments were related to 2 significant transactions, through which we purchased around 2,300 apartments.
- In 2017 SATO sets up a team of housing advisory experts as one of the firsts in privat sector.
- In the spring 2017 we took the traditional building management services back as an in-house service by SATO after a ten-year break. The management tasks were split between the new service directors and service managers, and we are working with a Customer first mentality.
- SATO HotelHome business, founded 2012, is sold to Forenom on February 2018.
- OmaSATO, service for SATO residents, launches on autumn 2018.
- SATO launches rental home star rating system
- Owing to negative development in the stock market, SATO cancels its listing on OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki
- Annual investment in housing approximately €100 million
- First investments made in St Petersburg
- First SATO PlusHome building wins Finnish Association for Civil Engineers (RIL) Award
- Largest individual housing acquisition in SATO history (1,766 homes) concluded with Suomi insurance company
- Regional centralisation of operations to Helsinki region and the regions of Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Jyväskylä
- Sato Corporation changes to SATO Corporation
- Majority shareholding is acquired in Vatro Oy and Salpa Oy
- Growth into a housing investment company
- Keskus-Sato is consigned to the history books; the company is renamed Sato Corporation
- Exports discontinued
- Group structure solidification started in the 1980s is completed
- Parent company’s shareholder base broadens significantly through new share issues
- In 1998, the Sato companies’ output reaches the 200,000-home mark
- Major shareholders in Keskus-Sato Oy sell their holdings in the regional and local Sato companies to Keskus-Sato Oy
- Number of local government shareholders in the Sato companies rises to around 60
- Keskus-Sato Oy begins developing in what was then the Soviet Union through consortiums
- Sato also becomes major developer of commercial and public infrastructure properties
- Number of Sato companies peaks at 28, with operations extending to just about every municipality in Finland
- Extensive land acquisitions in the Helsinki region
- Preparations for launch of industrial construction and related one-third founder shareholding in construction company Polar
- Regional development contracts signed and construction started in the Espoonlahti district of Espoo and the Hakunila district of Vantaa
- Collaboration started with all banks and bank consortiums in respect of home savings accounts
- First customer magazine Sato-Säästäjä launched.
- Sato opens the first-ever Finnish home-selling office that is not a realtor’s office
- The incorporated central organisation Keskus-Sato is established with the aim of bringing together people in need of housing throughout the country and to promote the construction of homes all across Finland by pooling forces with them.
- The duties of the association Keskus-Sato are transferred to the company Keskus-Sato
- Decision taken to permit insurance companies, industrial and commercial corporations and local government interests in housing production to subscribe for shares in Keskus-Sato Oy
- Foundation created for current shareholder structure: by the end of the decade, enterprises and local government hold 69% of the company
- First Sato companies established in Helsinki and Tampere
- Shares held by companies in the building materials trade and industry, contractors, and certain insurance companies
- Keskus-Sato association established with the aim of increasing the number of regional Sato companies and providing membership services
Always ready to be reformed
"The losses caused by war will have to be compensated with a devoted rebuilding". This sentence from our first report of activities in 1940 is filled with emotion and 'sisu'. A home is a basic necessity.