LaSalle Investment Management is targeting significant investment in Spain in the coming year, the global real estate manager said today as it announced the acquisition of a six-storey residential building in Madrid.

LaSalle, on behalf of a client, has paid an undisclosed sum to buy the asset from Spanish real estate investment trust Optimum III Value Added Residential. The asset, located at Calle Edgar Neville 7, comprises 40 apartments, a ground-floor retail space.

LaSalle said it will invest in further improvements to enhance the building quality and support a strategy of leasing out vacant units in the short term.

Francesco Coviello, head of investment CEE and Southern Europe at LaSalle, said the Calle Edgar Neville 7 asset is situated in a robust submarket of Madrid where LaSalle expects continued high demand for rental housing, particularly among upper-middle-income occupiers.

“We’re pleased to have secured this attractive investment opportunity on our client’s behalf and look forward to further building out our exposure to high-quality Spanish residential assets in prime city-centre locations.

“We are targeting significant investment in Spain in the coming year, with a main focus on the residential sector as we see the build-to-rent sector undersupplied and with a lack of quality residential units.”

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