Le mie ricette per la real estate communityAEW announces the acquisition of a prime high street asset located on a key shopping street in central Rome on behalf of the Europe City Retail Fund. The €22mn investment marks the Fund’s second acquisition in Rome and its fourth in the Italian market, where the value of the Fund’s assets now exceeds €100mn.
The asset, which is on the prestigious Via del Corso, has been acquired from a private seller. Having previously been occupied by H&M, the unit, which comprises 875 sqm of retail space over five floors, is currently vacant providing significant asset management potential.
Via del Corso attracts significant footfall, with over 35.8 million visitors annually. It is one of Rome’s main retail streets stretching 1.5km from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia, a historic area characterised by narrow alleys and small squares.
Christina Ofschonka, Europe City Retail Portfolio Manager at AEW, said: “This latest acquisition for the Fund is a good example of AEW’s ability to source interesting opportunities and reflects the benefits of having deep expertise on the ground. We continue to identify potential investments that align with our niche strategy, delivering both income and capital growth potential over the long term.”
Massimiliano Bernes, Country Head of Italy at AEW, added: “This is a high quality asset in one of Rome’s preeminent shopping streets, attracting a high volume of affluent tourists and locals alike. The outlook for retail in Italy’s prime districts is positive, and with strong appetite from retailers to showcase their brands in such locations, we are confident that we will be able to lease the space in the near term and deliver attractive income on behalf of our investors.”
The Europe City Retail Fund focuses on acquiring high quality, income producing assets in prime locations across Europe’s capital and tier one cities. The latest acquisition in Italy brings the Fund’s portfolio to 12 assets across 8 cities, including Rome, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Dublin and Helsinki, with a total value of c. €520mn.
AEW is one of the world’s largest real estate asset managers, with nearly €60bn of assets under management as at 30 June 2018. AEW has over 400 employees, with its main offices located in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong and offers a wide range of real estate investment products including comingled funds, separate accounts and securities mandates across the full spectrum of investment strategies. AEW represents the real estate asset management platform of Natixis Investment Managers, one of the largest asset managers in the world.
As at 30 June 2018, AEW managed near €30bn of real estate assets in Europe on behalf of a number of funds and separate accounts. AEW has close to 400 employees based in 10 offices across Europe and has a long track record of successfully implementing Core, Value-Add and Opportunistic investment strategies on behalf of its clients. In the last five years, AEW has invested and divested a total volume of over €19bn of real estate across European markets.
Source : Company
