EstCapital close to deal in London's West End

Italian fund manager EstCapital is close to brokering a deal on a 5,000 m² office building at the heart of London's West End district. The acquisition, with a volume of around £35mln (EUR 40.7 mln), is expected to be completed within the next two weeks, Federico Tosato, CEO of EstCapital, told PropertyEU in an interview at the EIRE trade fair in Milan.

Tosata declined to disclose further details on the transaction, but said the asset is being acquired from a 'well-known UK property company'.

The deal is the first in the UK by the group's RealEmerging investment fund. The vehicle, specialised in investment in Eastern Europe, has recently switched focus to the UK property market to take advantage of the sharp repricing in the country.

'In Eastern Europe we looked at 170 possible acquisitions last year. We haven't done one because we thought the risk is too high in that market,' Tosato said.
He added: 'In a way, the UK market is now comparable to Eastern Europe. We can get the same level of returns in London as in the Eastern European markets, without that level of risk.'

EstCapital manages a total of 13 property funds with assets under management of EUR 3 bn.