GE Real Estate has completed the purchase of its first retail mall in Rome from the Aareal Italy Fund for EUR 60 mln and said it plans to invest a further EUR 386 mln to EUR 540 mln in the Italian retail and office sectors in 2007.

GE Real Estate has completed the purchase of its first retail mall in Rome from the Aareal Italy Fund for EUR 60 mln and said it plans to invest a further EUR 386 mln to EUR 540 mln in the Italian retail and office sectors in 2007.

The Primavera shopping centre includes 45 retail units with a total lettable area of 12,263 m2. The mall, anchored by the supermarket SMA and MediaWorld, represents GE's second retail acquisition in Italy, after the purchase of a shopping centre in Sicily last year. It is located seven km from the centre of Rome, and has been fully occupied since its opening in 2003.

'We're looking at high street retail in the country for investments this year,' managing director of GE RE Southern Europe Morcelo Horcelo told newspaper Commercial Property News. 'It is a very stable market, with international luxury brands, besides the leading Italian brands.'

GE Real Estate, a business unit of GE Commercial Finance, achieved double-digit earnings growth in 2005, with net income increasing 14% over 2004. The group has EUR 50 bn of assets under management.