Real estate investment trust COIMA Res has expanded its office portfolio in Milan with the acquisition of an asset for around €56m.

The Italian property group said it has entered into a preliminary agreement to buy the office complex in Via Alessio di Tocqueville, 13, Milan from a real estate alternative investment fund managed by listed peer Mediolanum Gestione Fondi.

Tocqueville is a 10-storey building with a surface of around 12,300sqm and represents a sizeable core plus asset in the Milan Porta Nuova, Coima said.

Coima said Tocqueville’s current average gross rent in place is around €245 per sqm, representing more than 50% below Milan Porta Nuova prime rent of €550 per sqm. The bulk of the leasing contracts expires at the beginning of 2021, the gross rent in place is €2.4m per year.

Last week, Coima Res announced the acquisition of the UniCredit Pavilion in Milan for €45m.

Coima said its exposure to Milan on a pro-forma basis, following the Tocqueville and Pavilion acquisitions, increases to 76% of the portfolio and the company’s exposure to Porta Nuova increases to 30% of the portfolio with a surface of more than 35,000sqm in Porta Nuova across 6 buildings.

Manfredi Catella, the founder and CEO of Coima Res, said: “The Tocqueville acquisition is in line with our strategy of increasing our exposure to Milan Porta Nuova and adds to our portfolio an office property which offers an interesting rental growth potential.

”The features of the Tocqueville complex are coherent with the deep experience of Coima in creating value by repositioning properties.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of the year.