Le mie ricette per la real estate communityAXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, a global leader in real asset investments and the leading (1) real estate portfolio and asset manager in Europe, announces that it has completed the acquisition, on behalf of its clients, of a significant majority interest in the 8Gallery shopping centre in Turin, Italy for a total purchase price of €105 million. The acquisition is part of AXA IM – Real Assets’ ongoing value-added investment strategy and is in joint venture with Pradera, a specialist retail asset and fund manager.
Located in the iconic Lingotto Complex, 8Gallery, a top-ranked Turin retail destination, totals 23,300 sqm of GLA over two floors, with 4,000 parking spaces. It is let to a diverse range of national and international brands. Alongside 8Gallery, the Lingotto Complex houses a 2,300-seater cinema, two hotels, a conference centre and a Polytechnic University of Turin campus. The historic mixed-use destination extends to more than 150,000 sqm.
The proposed asset management strategy will seek to capitalise on the centre’s dominant catchment with a number of value-enhancing initiatives. Permissions have been granted for the refurbishment of the northern entrance, with the aim of reinforcing the 8Gallery brand and improving customer flows, as well as a c. 7,700 sqm extension, to deliver additional medium and large sized units, further diversifying the tenant mix and significantly improving the income profile.
The shopping centre benefits from excellent public transport links, with the City Centre less than 15 minutes by metro, as well as its close proximity to Turin’s ring road which provides access to a catchment area of 1.6 million people within a 30-minute drive.
This transaction is part of AXA IM – Real Assets more than €4 billion value-add strategy which seeks to invest primarily in office, retail, logistics and hotel assets in Europe’s key real estate markets, that offer significant value-enhancing asset management opportunities, principally through re-letting, refurbishment and repositioning strategies.
Ian Chappell, Head of Value-Add and Development Funds at AXA IM – Real Assets, commented: “8Gallery fits with our stated value-add strategy of acquiring assets which offer significant capital growth potential and where we can leverage our pan-European local footprint to the benefit of our clients. We are pleased by this acquisition of a landmark urban shopping centre which has excellent real estate fundamentals and strong upside potential through re-positioning and an extension. We will continue to deploy capital in value-added strategies given our increasing investor interest and our focus on sourcing new opportunities in this space.”
Stefano Viciguerra, Joint Head, Pradera Management Italy added: “We are pleased to be working alongside AXA IM – Real Assets on the asset management and development of 8Gallery. Pradera’s Italian and international retail and leisure teams see huge potential to further enhance the attraction of such an iconic complex for the local customer base and for the increasing number of tourists visiting the city each year.”
1) Source: INREV/ANREV Fund Manager Survey – May 2018– in terms of assets under management
Source : Company