Qataris close purchase of Credit Suisse's Italian HQ

A Middle Eastern investor believed to be the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has closed the acquisition of the Credit Suisse headquarters in Milan from US developer-investor Tishman Speyer.

The asset was put on the market through Cushman & Wakefield in early March, as reported by PropertyEU.

According to Italian press reports, the building at Via Santa Margherita 3 is changing hands for over €110 mln in cash.

The 15,000 m2 asset is multi-let to bank Credit Suisse and BPVN. Currently fully leased, the property was completely refurbished by Tishman Speyer in 2006 and generates rents of around €6 mln a year.

'The depth of demand for this trophy building was remarkable and highlights Milan’s attractiveness for new international capital entering the market,' commented Giacomo De Feo of Cushman & Wakefield which advised the vendor.

The Qataris are being advised by asset manager Hines Italia Sgr on the deal.

The transaction is the latest by the sovereign wealth fund in Milan. In early 2013, Qatar Holding, which is part of QIA, agreed to buy a 40% stake in the flagship Porta Nuova mixed-use development in the city centre of Milan from Italian fund manager Hines Italia Sgr.

The deal amounted to some €800 mln, valuing the project at a total of €2 bn.

In 2012, the Qataris also bought Credit Suisse's London headquarters at One Cabot Square in Canary Wharf, London for €400 mln.

The Swiss lender has agreed to lease back the asset through 2034.

The 546,114 sq ft (50,000 m2) building was designed by international architects Pei Cobb Freed Partners, and completed in 1991 by developer Canary Wharf Group, in which QIA also has a significant interest via its 28%-owned unit, Songbird Estates. The Qatari fund is also a shareholder in Credit Suisse, with a 6% stake.