AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has announced the completion, on behalf of its clients, the acquisition of the Assago Building, an office asset in Milan, Italy, from Sireo Immobilienfond for approximately €27m.
Located in the Milanofiori business district, 10km from the Milan city centre, the Assago Building comprises a total lettable area of 19,500m² spread across five above-ground floors plus underground parking facilities. The property, originally built in the 1980s but extensively refurbished over the years, is fully let to a global management consultancy firm as a major regional operational centre.
The asset is strategically situated in the Milanofiori business complex, which is one of Italy’s largest and most established office locations. Milanofiori offers a range of amenities including conference centres, a shopping centre, two hotels, and sport and leisure facilities. The Assago Building is situated in the immediate vicinity of the Milanofiori Metro station, offering transport links to the city centre and surrounding areas.
This transaction follows AXA IM - Real Assets’ recent activities in the Italian real estate market, and adds to its portfolio of Milan-based office assets having acquired Via Battistotti Sassi, 11 and Torre Beta, two further office buildings in the city, over the past six months. Investing across the full spectrum of the sector, other recent acquisitions include the €180m acquisition of a portfolio of hospital facilities in Northern Italy in November 2015.
Alessio Lucentini, head of Italian asset management & transactions, Real Assets, said: “The Assago building is our second acquisition in this leading business district and illustrates our commitment to investing in assets that have good fundamentals, are well located, and that attract long-term and strong covenants. Furthermore, the diversified range of assets that we’ve added to our Italian portfolio over the past year demonstrates both the expertise of our expert local team in sourcing value-enhancing investment opportunities to create value for our clients as well as our conviction in the prospects for this market.”
