Some EUR 2.5 bn of Italian retail assets is up for grabs in Italy as developers look to cash in on rebounding property prices, according to Davide Dalmiglio, head of JLL's retail capital markets in Italy. 'Despite the large availability of product, as little as 10-15% of total stock corresponds to investors' current risk profile,´ Dalmiglio said.

Some EUR 2.5 bn of Italian retail assets is up for grabs in Italy as developers look to cash in on rebounding property prices, according to Davide Dalmiglio, head of JLL's retail capital markets in Italy. 'Despite the large availability of product, as little as 10-15% of total stock corresponds to investors' current risk profile,´ Dalmiglio said.

Most properties on the market are aged shopping centres in need of a refurbishment or in crisis due to new openings, he added. 'Investors are looking for dominant malls for their catchments and with a consolidated track record. Most investors are reluctant to take on the risks associated with new shopping centres or shopping centre projects without trading history.'

As such, the lack of good-quality product is putting a brake on the country's investment market even though a number of cash-rich funds are looking to invest. Dalmiglio said he expects first-quarter retail investment volumes to come in at around EUR 700 mln, with international players driving as much as 90% of the total figure.

'The result is in line with 2009 volumes, although this might be misleading because most 2009 deals were initiated in 2008 and completed 12 months later. In fact, just EUR 200 mln worth of transactions were started and completed in 2009,' Dalmiglio said. He expects that the full-year figure for Italian retail investment will likely amount to EUR 1.5 bn.

Assets on the market include two shopping centres in Pistoia and Alessandria owned by Panorama which are being sold with a price tag of EUR 80 mln, as well as Klepierre's Tor Vergata shopping centre in the outskirts of Rome, which is valued at around EUR 60 mln.