Ardian Real Estate, the independent private investment company, has signed an agreement to acquire six assets owned by an Italian real estate fund named Cloe managed by Prelios SGR.
The deal is the first investment in Italy made by Ardian Real Estate Europe Fund (AREEF) and follows the acquisition of Wappenhalle, the office and business park complex in Munich, completed in November 2016.
Prelios SGR, the seller, is a leading real estate fund manager in Italy and manages 33 funds, with approximately €4bn of assets under management. The transaction consists in the acquisition of six real estate office buildings with an overall GLA of 91,000 m², part of the Cloe fund which has been active since 2004. Three of the assets are located in Milan (Corso Italia 13, Via Washington 70, Strada 4 Palazzo A Assago), two are located in Rome (Via Colombo 80, Via V. Veneto 89) and a very small asset located in Bari.
This core-plus acquisition is in line with Ardian Real Estate’s investment strategy, which is to focus on major cities in the Eurozone’s three largest economies - Italy, France and Germany - where Ardian already has an extensive background in direct private investment. With highly experienced senior teams based in Frankfurt, Paris and Milan, Ardian Real Estate is set to become a major player in Europe’s property market.
Bertrand Julien-Laferrière, Head of Ardian Real Estate, said: “These office complexes perfectly fit in with our investment strategy: to target significant commercial property assets and seek to significantly enhance rental income through active asset management. This manage approach provides an outstanding opportunity in our target markets. It requires talent, experience and a strong network, but we believe that in doing so we will achieve the doubly positive effect of both increasing rents and lifting capital values.”
Rodolfo Petrosino, Managing Director, Ardian Real Estate, added: ”Italy offers a great opportunity for experienced, local real estate managers. Milan and Rome are two of Europe’s very interesting real estate investment locations. We knew both these assets and the seller very well, so we were able to seize the opportunity very quickly. We see a lot of potential for value creation with these office spaces and we look forward to starting work.“
