Property fund Principal acquires Milan office building for €34m

Principal Real Estate Europe has completed the acquisition of an office property in Milan’s office district from Amundi Real Estate Italia SGR.

Acting as the asset and transaction manager of the Principal European Office Fund, Principal Real Estate Europe bought the 7,000 sqm office building with a purchase price of €34m.

Located at Via Giovanni Battista Pirelli 18, between the Porta Nuova central business district and the central railway station in Milan, the office building is fully let to a single tenant below the current market rate on an unexpired lease term of four and a half years.

Paul Muno, managing director and head of investor relations Germany at Principal Real Estate Europe, commented: “This latest acquisition in Italy highlights our team’s ability to source high quality buildings with excellent potential for value and income enhancement against the background of an extremely competitive market.

“We are currently experiencing an uptick in interest from international investors keen to deploy capital to buy attractively priced assets in Italy.”

The Principal European Office Fund is a London-headquartered office property fund with long-term value stability. With a target volume of €600m, the fund has already invested in Amsterdam, Lisbon, Milan, Paris and Toulouse.

Cushman & Wakefield advised Principal on this transaction. Legal advice to the purchaser was provided by Jones Day, with BonelliErede acting for the vendor. Technical advice was by Yard, and Ernst & Young were responsible for taxation issues.