A lack of core product makes Italy less appealing to institutional investors and the stock available is mainly opportunistic, Paolo Bellacosa, CBRE Italy’s MD for capital markets has told PropertyEU's latest Southern Europe Investment Briefing.
A lack of core product makes Italy less appealing to institutional investors and the stock available is mainly opportunistic, Paolo Bellacosa, CBRE Italy’s MD for capital markets has told PropertyEU's latest Southern Europe Investment Briefing.
‘Deal flow comes mainly from liquidation of funds and government sales, and all these assets are opportunistic plays because they need to be stabilised, they need investment, the strategy is "buy, fix, sell". The core market is still very limited. There are a few sovereign wealth funds or long-term investors that are looking at permanent locations, but it’s still a very limited market,’ he said.
‘I think the wave for the future will be to fix existing stock, create new grade A, and in the medium term create a more core market,’ Bellacosa added.
Francois Rispe, head of Southern Europe for Prologis, believes Italy remains ‘one of the most challenging countries to invest in, in terms of finding the right opportunity at the right time. It’s changing but its gradual. It's not going to change overnight.’
Compared to Spain, he said Italy was ‘behind by six to 12 months in terms of capital and the occupier market, though that has been picking up lately. It’s more gradual but it’s coming'.
