Cordea Savills clinches EUR 320 mln Italian portfolio deal

European property fund manager Cordea Savills has exchanged contracts for the purchase of an Italian property portfolio from Beni Stabili for EUR 320 mln.

The portfolio, which comprises 20 residential and commercial assets in and around Milan, is being acquired on behalf of Cordea Savills Italian Opportunities No.1 investment vehicle and private clients of Cordea Savills.' The proposed portfolio is broken down as follows: 52% residential, 25% office, 15% retail and bank agency and 8% other, Cordea said.

The transaction is a joint venture arrangement between Cordea Savills, Operae and Sviluppi Immobiliari (a subsidiary of Beni Stabili) to acquire part of the former Comit Fund portfolio.

The arrangement grants Sviluppi Immobiliari a put option on its holding which may be exercised a year from the completion, whilst Cordea Savills and Operae have been granted a reciprocal call option. The exchange of contracts comes ahead of the next closing for Cordea Savills' Italian Opportunities No.1 venture, which is scheduled for December 15. Italian Opportunities No.1 is open to investment from both institutions and sophisticated private investors.

'This purchase highlights both our ability to execute major transactions in Europe and our expertise in the Italian property market. We are delighted to be buying into a portfolio which will allow us to create value through a number of strategies, ranging from trading activity, such as fractionalisation, breaking-up and selling some assets, to the repositioning of properties through asset management, such as lease re-gearing, active management and redevelopment,' said Dominic White, head of Cordea Savills' European portfolio management.

Cordea said that although Italy is already one of the largest European economies, the company believes that there is considerable potential to generate strong returns due to the prevalence of off-market transactions, high levels of owner-occupation and little active management of the many properties in the market, there is considerable potential to generate strong returns. Italian Opportunities No.1 focuses on repackaging portfolios for immediate trading, repositioning single assets and portfolios for sale to the growing investor market.