Quilvest Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Quilvest Private Equity, has made its first direct acquisition in Italy with the purchase of the Barilla Center, a 12,600-m2 retail asset in Parma, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna.
The deal was made on behalf of an Italian real estate alternative investment fund managed by Kryalos from Baring, the holding vehicle for a local family. Financial details were kept confidential.
Designed by Renzo Piano, the Barilla Center consists of 8,000 m2 of retail space, a seven-screen cinema, and a 570-space car park. It was created as part of the redevelopment of four acres of land previously used as a pasta factory, and opened in 2003. The cinema is the only multiplex within Parma’s city centre.
Patrick Laroche, CIO Europe & Asia at Quilvest Real Estate, commented: 'We believe that the potential of the Barilla Center could be further enhanced through an optimisation of its merchandising mix, a refurbishment of certain elements of the centre and a general strengthening of the asset’s rental income.'
Quilvest intends to pursue further investments in Italian real estate as part of its pan-European acquisition strategy, added Laroche. 'We continue to actively deploy capital in properties that offer value-add potential.'
With a team of nearly 100 professionals investing both directly into companies and in funds, Quilvest Private Equity manages approximately $5 bn (€4 bn) of assets. Quilvest Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Quilvest Private Equity, has been investing in Europe since early 2015. It has so far built up a 340,000 m2 portfolio with a value of over €350 mln in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Italy, France and Spain.
In the last 12 months, Quilvest Real Estate has made investments in France (office: peri-Defense), Germany (retail: North Rhine Westphalia) and the US (office: Philadelphia, industrial: Colorado, healthcare: Oregon).
