London-based private equity real estate firm Henderson Park has entered the Italian market with the acquisition of a portfolio of three well located assets in Milan, Italy, for €221.1 mln.
The office-led portfolio has been acquired from Italian utility firm A2A, which currently occupies the properties and is due to fully vacate two of the assets immediately, with a planned departure from the third in around three years.
The portfolio offers a number of asset management opportunities, with Henderson Park looking to reposition the properties in order to take advantage of increasing demand from occupiers for new, prime, amenity-led office and residential accommodation with strong sustainability and wellness credentials.
The largest property in the portfolio, Corso di Porta Vittoria 4, is an 18,000 m2 standalone office building, which occupies an entire block within Milan’s historic city centre just five minutes from the world famous Duomo. Originally constructed in the 1940s, the attractive six-storey office building has entrances on each of its four sides and a car park at underground level.
The second asset is located at Via Balduccio da Pisa 15, in the heart of the vibrant Porta Romana district in the south-east of Milan, situated on a former railway yard undergoing significant regeneration. This area has attracted substantial investment, which will see the 20 hectare(190,000 m2) site transformed into a large urban park framed by innovative residential, office and leisure developments, which are in various phases of construction.
Sitting next to the renowned Symbiosis development and just south of the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics Village, the asset comprises five buildings totalling 6,600 m2 that are currently dedicated to office and storage space and surround a central yard that is used as a car park. The buildings offer potential to increase the GLA by 16,000 m2 and undertake a comprehensive repositioning suited to both residential and office uses.
The third asset is on Via Gonin 51 in the San Cristoforo Navigli neighbourhood, in the south-west of Milan. It presents an opportunity to deliver a 50,000 m2 residential development which capitalises on local infrastructure works, that will improve the area’s connectivity with the arrival of a new M4 metro line. The asset, which was predominantly used for storage, sits on a large site presenting a range of redevelopment options, with a number of residential and commercial schemes in its vicinity.
Henderson Park is partnering with Maston Investment Management (Maston), an Italian investor and developer of high-quality office and residential properties, on the development of this portfolio.
Christophe Kuhbier, managing director at Henderson Park, said: ‘This transaction provides us with an immediate and meaningful exposure to the Italian market through the acquisition of a portfolio of extremely well located assets in Italy’s main financial centre, Milan. We have identified a number of opportunities to unlock latent value from within the portfolio, both through our own asset management initiatives as well as by engaging with the wider regeneration and infrastructure improvement projects underway across the city. Milan has a constrained supply, with demand being driven by a growing and increasingly international occupier base, particularly for prime modern office space with strong environmental credentials.’
Eddy Cosenza, founding partner of Maston, said: ‘Henderson Park represents the perfect partner for us to work with to acquire and unlock the development potential in this unique portfolio, which I firmly believe is one of the most exciting investments in Milan.’
