Investire fund sells Turin office building

Fund manager Investire Immobiliare has pulled off one of the largest sales in the Italian real estate market so far this year.

Acting for the Fondo Immobili Pubblici (FIP Fund), Investire Immobiliare sold the office building at C.so Bolzano 30 in Turin to an unnamed Italian investor for €29 mln.

Despite the modest investment volume compared to other European markets, this ranks as one of the major deals for the first half of 2013 in Italy and one of most significant in Turin for some time.

Located near the brand new Porta Susa railway station, the building provides 20,000 m2 of gross floor area on 10 storeys and dates back to the 1970s. The asset is fully leased to the public authorities on a long-term rental agreement.

Agent GEFIntermediazioni brokered the transaction.

'Our business model focuses on identifying, within the local investment community, those who have finance available to operate in the real estate sector, even in the current situation characterized by a lack of liquidity and access to credit,' said Luca Pons, director of sales of GEFIntermediazioni.

Also this week, Investire Immobiliare was appointed to manage a 3,000-strong property portfolio across Italy. Italian electric utility group Enel hired Investire, in partnership with BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management Italy, Reag, and Collier International to manage the assets, which are spread across 400 cities and towns in Italy. The package has an estimated value of €200 mln.