Deutsche Bank's asset management arm DWS has acquired the Barberino Designer Outlet in Tuscany from Nuveen Real Estate.
Financial details were not disclosed, although Italian media reports nine months ago suggested that Nuveen was seeking a buyer for the asset in the €200 mln price range.
The asset had been held for the last ten years in Nuveen's European outlet mall fund (EOMF), which currently owns ten outlets in Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and the UK, worth a total of around €3.3 bn.
'The outlet sector is proving to be a resilient investment product, and for this reason assets like Barberino continue to be interesting for long-term investors who aim at quality and diversification,' said Mario Pellò, head of Italy for Nuveen Real Estate.
Branded and run by McArthurGlen, which is set to retain the management contract, the main structure of the outlet mall covers some 27,000 m2 and is landscaped to blend in with the Tuscan hills above the town of Barberino di Mugello, between Florence and Pisa.
The outlet is almost fully let, with tenants including Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Nike and Adidas, and attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year, according to Nuveen.
