BNP Paribas REIM sells office asset in Milan for EUR 23m

BNP Paribas REIM's Portfolio Immobiliare Crescita fund in liquidation has clinched its first sale with the disposal of an office building near Milan to the Mediolanum Real Estate fund for around EUR 23 mln. The transaction price is 8.37% higher than the property's value at end-December 2008, the company said.

Following the sale, the fund will distribute a partial reimbursement of EUR 284 to each of the 69,200 units held by investors in the fund.

BNP Paribas's Italian unit BNL Fondi Immobiliare announced at the end of January that it had asked for a three-year extension on the liquidation of the closed-ended fund, which has to dispose EUR 260 mln of assets. The group is retaining advisers AEW Italia, Jones Lang LaSalle and AtisReal to carry out the disposal programme.

Launched in 2001, the property investment vehicle was initially due to close by the end of this year, but as a result of the credit crunch and the difficult market conditions, the company said it was unable to complete the disposal of the properties held by the fund on advantageous terms.