US developer-investor Hines has completed the acquisition of a retail and office building on Milan's central Piazza Cordusio for an institutional real estate fund administered and managed on behalf of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest pension scheme group with €62 bn of assets under management.
The asset has been acquired from the Fondo Megas managed by Italy's Sorgente for €130 mln.
The 11,000 m2 19th century building at 2 Piazza Cordusio is located in the heart of the commercial and financial district adjacent to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Duomo of Milan. The iconic seven-storey property is almost fully vacant, and will undergo redevelopment to bring the building back to its former grandeur, with the upper floors planned to be converted into exclusive offices. It was previously leased to tenants DLA and Commerzbank.
This transaction is the fourth acquisition by Hines and Universal-Investment for the BVK mandate, having been appointed late last year to execute a €1.3 bn investment programme targeting prime high-street retail property across Europe.
The acquisition follows the purchase in March of another flagship building in the historical centre of Milan, Via Dante 16, as well as further acquisitions in Oslo’s Karl Johans Gate and Glasgow’s Buchanan Street.
Mario Abbadessa, Italy country head for Hines, said: 'Piazza Cordusio is an outstanding location in Milan’s historical centre that will play a vital role as the nucleus between the different retail locations in Milan and a showcase for flagship stores. With its stature and visibility, 2 Piazza Cordusio is a special building that is ideally placed to house some of the world’s best retail brands currently looking for attractive space in Milan.'
Lars Huber, CO-CEO of Hines Europe, added: 'Italy represents an attractive market with significant potential.'
