Thor Equities has bought its first real estate asset in Italy, attracted by Milan’s retail market.

The New York-based investor is investing in a prime retail asset in Milan’s Via della Spiga.

The mixed-use, 7,826 sqm property, which also includes office and residential space, is let to Dolce & Gabbana.

Jared Hart, managing director at Thor Equities, said Milan’s retail market and overall economy had “held up very well”.

“Retail rents have remained stable along prime fashion corridors including Via della Spiga, due in large part to the city’s emergence as a global gateway destination attracting European, US, Asian and Middle Eastern consumers,” Hart said.

Thor Equities, which has bought similar assets in London and Paris, this year invested in Madrid for the first time. 

Increased retail demand was behind Thor Equities’s decision to invest in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol.

Joseph Sitt, chief executive at Thor Equities, said the area’s high footfall was a major factor behind the US investor’s decision.

Last month, Kennedy Wilson bought its first assets in Italy, investing €185.5m ($205m) in an office portfolio in Florence, Milan and Rome. 

The portfolio will be managed by Savills Investment Management SGR and held in a closed-end real estate vehicle, the Olimpia Investment Fund.

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