Italy's Sorgente Group has acquired a retail portfolio and two office buildings across Italy for a total purchase price of EUR 250 mln. In a statement, Sorgente said the deals, which were sealed in the last days of 2007, reflect a net initial yield of around 6%.
Italy's Sorgente Group has acquired a retail portfolio and two office buildings across Italy for a total purchase price of EUR 250 mln. In a statement, Sorgente said the deals, which were sealed in the last days of 2007, reflect a net initial yield of around 6%.
Sorgente, on behalf of its Michelangelo real estate fund, has bought 15 Upim department stores in a sale-and-lease back transaction worth EUR 146 mln. The stores are located in several cities including Ventimiglia, Trieste, Milan and Messina. UPIM is a department stores chain owned by the La Rinascente Group.
Michelangelo has also invested EUR 46 mln in an office complex in the Eur district of Rome. The building, located on a 30-hectare site, is home to services firm Accenture.
Sorgente's listed fund Caravaggio is also acquiring an office building in the city centre of Naples for some EUR 50 mln. The building will house the headquarters of the city's taxation office. Caravaggio's portfolio already included institutional tenants such as the Carabinieri police force and the Sicilia Region.
'The new acquisitions are a good omen for the 2008 year, in which we have ambitious expectations for our funds in Italy and abroad', said CEO Valter Mainetti.
Michelangelo, launched in 2001, is a closed-end property fund dedicated to institutional investors. At end-June 2007, the fund had a value of EUR 195 mln. Closed-end fund Caravaggio was launched in 2003, and was listed on Milan's stock exchange in May 2005. At end-June 2007, it had a value of EUR 156 mln.
Sorgente is an Italian property group active through ten subsidiaries in Italy, France, UK, Luxembourg, USA and the Netherlands. The company also manages other two funds, including one focused on hotels and listed as a SIIC in France.
