South African-listed retail real estate investment trust (REIT) Vukile Property Fund has entered the Italian market with the acquisition of a €115m portfolio of three shopping centres and the launch of a dedicated investment platform, Esperia Properties. 

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed REIT has established Esperia as its Italian holding company and aims to build the platform into a portfolio exceeding €500m over time. The initial portfolio comprises Le Due Valli in Turin, Le Centurie in Padua and Quarto Nuovo in Naples, acquired at an initial yield of 10%.

Vukile said two further Italian acquisitions, with a combined value of €200m, are already at an advanced stage and are expected to deliver a cash-on-cash yield of 9%.

The move marks the latest step in Vukile’s European expansion strategy, following the creation of its Iberian retail platform Castellana Properties in Spain in 2017. Castellana has since grown into a €2.2bn portfolio spanning Spain and Portugal, with assets including retail destinations in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

Vukile CEO Laurence Rapp said the group’s Italian strategy follows the same model that underpinned its Iberian growth: entering markets selectively, applying active asset management and building scale around retail specialisation. 

“Italy’s fundamentals are genuinely attractive, the assets we have acquired are strong, and we have the right team and partners in place,” Rapp said.

Vukile is leveraging its recent investment in Pradera, a pan-European retail property manager in which it acquired a 35% stake. Pradera, which has managed the three acquired shopping centres for around a decade, will continue to oversee asset management for Esperia.

The launch of Esperia will be led by Omar Khan, who has been appointed Vukile’s group chief investment officer after previously heading investment activity for Castellana in Iberia. Khan will focus on expanding the Italian platform while continuing to oversee investment strategy across the group. 

“The Italian opportunity carries many of the same characteristics that drew us to Spain in the first place — strong consumer fundamentals, undersupplied dominant centres, attractive yields and meaningful scope to grow income,” Khan said.

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
six retail parks retail Romania AFI Romania Mas 115,000m2 €197 The deal includes the Prahova Value Centre in Ploiești, the Zalău Value Centre, the Baia Mare Value Centre, the Roman Value Centre, the Sepsi Value Centre in Sfântu Gheorge, and the Bârlad Value Centre.
office building at Prinzregentenplatz office Munich Conren Land, Ferrado Inmuebles S.L. Union Investment Real Estate 21,300m² €168 The property is currently fully let to a number of renowned corporate tenants.
Project Akoya logistics Greater London, South East Clipstone IM NA NA £140 (€164) The portfolio includes 11 industrial estates.
retirement housing portfolio living UK Living REIT Residential Secure Income plc 2000+flats £108 (€127) The portfolio includes 1,907 senior living rental flats and 256 housing manager flats.
three shopping centres retail Turin, Padua and Naples Vukile NA 41,000m2 €115 The acquisition involves Le Due Valli in Turin, Le Centurie in Padua and Quarto Nuovo in Naples.
Avenue Mall retail Zagreb InterCapital Real Estate Fund Globe Trade Centre 28,000m2 €100 The deal is the fund’s largest acquisition to date.
Gamla Landsvägen and Hedvig developments living Stockholm Acer Bostad Sveafastigheter 208 apartments €66 Total investments in the projects are expected to amount to SEK 570m.
logistics portfolio logistics Madrid, Málaga, Valencia and Murcia Crossbay NA NA €45 The package consists of seven logistics assets.
Eastman Edge industrial estate logistics Harrow, UK Barings Big Yellow NA £38.5 (€45) The multi let light industrial estate benefits from strong sustainability credentials.
The Whitgift Centre retail London Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield John Whitgift Foundation 1,302,444sqft £31.5 (€37) URW is buying the freehold ownership and comprises the Whitgift Centre and Green Park House.
Telford Bridge Retail Park retail Shropshire, UK British Land KingSett Capital 192,000sqft £30 (€35) The deal reflects a net yield of 8.3%.
logistics asset logistics Leverkusen, Germany Vengrove NA 16,571m2 €23 The asset is leased to TMD Friction.
Doctor Esquerdo 136 office Madrid TwinPeaks Azora 5,000m2 NA The property will be be redeveloped into a 55-unit residential scheme.
Märkisches Quartier office Dortmund, Germany City of Dortmund Schroder Real Estate 22,900m2 NA The city is already the largest tenant of the property and will now also become the owner as part of the transaction.
via Giovanni Amendola 85, largo Toniolo 4-6 hotel Rome Kryalos Sgr NA 4,800m2 NA The two properties offer a total of 65 rooms and will be managed by Room00.
development site living Stuttgart Instone Diakonie Stetten 13,400m2 NA The firm plans to develop 240 apartments on the site.
development site hotel Fréjus, France BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts NA 160 mobile homes NA This 5-star campsite is set on a 10-hectare estate and offers more than 360 pitches, the majority being modern mobile homes.
Borio Mangiarotti platform corporate Milan Arrow Global NA NA NA The company is a major development and management business focused on the Milan area.
The Systems building office London JD.com BlueFive Private Wealth 127,000sqft NA The asset will serve as the group’s European headquarters.
1 Chester Street office London TPG and Beltane Asset Management NA 50,000sqft NA The acquisition and refurbishment are being supported by a £53.5m financing facility provided by Grosvenor’s UK lending business.
resi asset living Valencia CBRE Investment Management Corebridge Real Estate Investors 16,966m2 NA The asset comprises 147 apartments across two buildings.
resi development living UK Lloyds Living Barratt Redrow 980 homes NA The portfolio comprises single-family homes across Nottinghamshire, Merseyside, East Anglia, the West Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Lisbon Serviced Apartments corporate Portugal Numa NA 450 apartments NA The platform has 19 properties in the capital.
49% stake in Eqho Tower office Paris Icade South Korean investors 79,000m2 NA The acquisition delivers a yield of over 8%.

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
Venti House PBSA asset living Stratford, UK Watkin Jones and HGP 397beds £120+ (€141) NA The newly-completed asset has a gross development value of £120m.
Manchester Towers office campus office Manchester Kennedy Wilson 289,000sqft £88 (€104) CBRE and JLL The asset is one of Greater Manchester’s largest out-of-town offices campuses.
The Rex living Kingston upon Thames, UK Amro 210homes £80 (€94) Knight Frank The owner is exploring a range of strategic options for the asset.
maxCologne office Cologne Hyundai Asset Management and Mirae Asset Daewoo 20,400m2 €80 Colliers The asset houses long-term government tenants like the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (Bima)
Villa Bagatella living Cannes LVMH NA NA Magrey&Sons The property was bought for €46.5 two years ago.
Sense building office London Sense charity 16,300sqft NA Carter Jones The national disability charity, Sense, previously maintained its head office in this self-contained building.

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
Bond investors Vesteda Unsecured €500 The bond has a term of four years and a coupon of 3.75%.
Tristan Capital Partners Goldman Sachs and Edge Edge London Bridge £340 (€399) The loan will be used to complete the development early after landing a prelet.
Handelsbanken Derwent London Unsecured £100 (€117) The revolving credit facility has an initial five-year term, with two one-year extension options and a £50m accordion option.
Aldermore Brydell Partners UK resi portfolio £85 (€100) The five-year interest-only loan will be used to buy five residential projects, totalling a combined 325 homes in Waltham Forest, Ealing and Wandsworth.
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB Eurocommercial Avion mall in Umeå €64 The five-year green loan facility is at margins in line with its existing loans.
Redevco Bain Capital 156-unit residential project in Dublin €57 The senior loan will finance the development of the scheme.
Secure Trust Bank Livingway three BTR assets in the UK £35 (€41) The three-year facilities are structured at 65% loan-to-value, with the package including a temporary increase to 70% LTV through a bespoke financing structure.
Aviva Investors Amro Partners and Invesco two PBSA assets in Valencia €33 Once complete, the projects will provide 342 beds.
Deutsche Hypo LVMH 97/99 Avenue des Champs-Élysées NA The new financing fully repays an existing loan from NORD/LB.

 

New mandates/JVs and funds on the market   
Firm Fund/mandate/JV Strategy Details
InvestiRE sgr Student Living Italy 1 Building a portfolio of student housing facilities across Italy The fund will first invest in a student housing facility in via dei Caboto, Florence.
      The vehicle will join forces with operator Nido Livensa on the project.
HIG Highground Living Expanding its German residential portfolio and operating platform The €1bn platform is to invest in a €450m high-quality, residential portfolio in Leipzig and Dresden.
AX Partners AX Partners Private Credit Real Estate Providing senior secured financing for institutional-quality real estate assets across Europe The strategy aims to deploy more than €500m over next five years.

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