Viljar Arakas

Viljar Arakas (born 26 February 1979 in Tallinn) is an Estonian entrepreneur and one of the best-known figures in Baltic real estate investment. He studied telecommunications at Tallinna Polütehnikum (graduating 1999) before earning a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Estonian Business School (EBS) in 2003, later adding further business qualifications. He has described himself as having more than 20 years of experience building companies and investing in real estate across the Baltics.

In 2008 Arakas co-founded EfTEN Capital AS, which has grown into the largest real estate fund manager in the Baltic States. The firm is licensed by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (2009, with an alternative fund manager license added in 2014), employs over 50 people with offices in all three Baltic capitals, and manages a family of funds spanning offices, retail, logistics/warehousing, hotels and residential property. Its flagship vehicle, EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS, is listed on Nasdaq Tallinn, and Arakas serves as its CEO and public face — regularly commenting on Baltic property cycles, valuations and interest-rate conditions.

Beyond EfTEN, Arakas is a founding member and Supervisory Board member of Coop Pank AS, one of Estonia's retail banks. He was named Estonia's "Manager (Business Person) of the Year" for 2013 and appeared on Eesti Päevaleht/LP/Delfi's list of influential Estonians (ranked 94th in 2022). Alongside these institutional roles he participates as a private angel investor in Estonian technology startups, most notably in the PropTech/energy space that overlaps with his real-estate expertise.

• Primary vehicle is institutional real estate: Through EfTEN Capital he deploys fund capital into Baltic commercial property across the risk spectrum — core, core-plus, value-add and opportunistic — in offices, retail centers, logistics, hotels and residential.
• Angel investing leans into his domain edge: His startup bets cluster around building automation, smart buildings and energy efficiency — themes directly adjacent to his real-estate operating knowledge.
• Regulatory and energy tailwinds thesis: On backing Bisly he stated the market for building automation "has great potential due to EU regulations, climate and energy targets as well as the understanding of developers that buildings have to become smart."
• Discipline and exits matter: As a closed-end fund manager he emphasizes long-term, exit-ready strategies and buying/selling relative to appraised book value — a value-conscious, IRR-driven lens he carries into how he evaluates opportunities.