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Amundi Re Sgr focuses on “core” real estate sectors

02 November, Il Sole 24 Ore

500 million euro invested in Italy especially in Milan and Rome

 

Amundi real estate Italia Sgr is constantly researching high-quality properties across the whole country. In this way, the asset manager has accumulated a portfolio for the value of approximately 500 million euro, 300 of which are properties bought at the end of last December.

Among the operations, there is the acquisition for 126 million euro last spring for the “I Tolentini” complex, composed of five adjoining buildings in the centre of Rome, between Via del Basilico and Salita San Nicola da Tolentino, a few minutes from Piazza di Spagna and Quirinale. With this operation, the Nexus Fund 1, the property fund dedicated to expert investors launched in the first quarter of 2014, has finalised its tenth investment. Later, on 31st October, it bought a property in Genoa in Via XX Settembre for a value of approximately 16.5 million euro.

At European level for the first semester of 2017, Amundi real estate has implemented acquisitions for 1,138  billion euro, considering the property funds and the existing mandates. Of this value, 65% comes from France and 35% has an international origin (33% from Germany and 2% from the Czech Republic), aiming at commercial properties, 98% of which in offices and 2% in shops.

“Our investment philosophy guiding the creation of our portfolio has a core nature – says Giovanni di Corato, Amundi Real Estate Italia Sgr Ceo -, the portfolio concerns investments in Milan and Rome, and currently we’re more present in Rome than the average. The average gross return of the fund is close to 5.7% with a vacant property rate of 3.6%”. The asset manager is not interested in hotels and logistics, sectors everybody in real estate seem to be aiming at. “Our philosophy is very traditional – he continues – with this in mind, we’re not interested in mass retail”. The company, however, has been looking for new operations to finalise in the next months.

“We can say that potentially there are still 40 million to invest till the end of the year – explains di Corato -. Also for the next year, we’ll be actively present on the market”. Answering the question whether Italy lacks product offer, Di Corato replies that “it’s difficult to find properties suitable for investments. The recession years in Italy have created a gap between core and non-core investments, with price and returns difference reabsorbing only now. I’m pretty positive, even though the recovery is slow, but the outlook for the medium term is more optimistic”.

In the meanwhile, Amundi Real Estate, Crédit Agricole Assurances and Primonial have acquired in Paris the office complex Coeur Défense from Lone Star for an amount of 1.8 billion euro.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore (by Paola Dezza)

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi