Barings has sold a Milan office building to an Italian insurance company that will take up residence within the property.
Having acquired the c. 5,000 sq m asset in May 2019 when it was vacant, Barings undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the property, now completed, repositioning it as a Grade A office building with a LEED Platinum target rating, in line with the strong ESG focus of the value-add strategy. Further improvements have been made to modernise and enhance the building including the façade, all technical facilities and entrance hall. In 2020, the redevelopment project, designed by the Italian architectural firm Lombardini22, has been awarded with the international prize AEC Excellence Award.
The asset is prominently located in central Milan on the edge of the historical city centre and walking distance from the Piazza Duomo. The property benefits from nearby transport connectivity via the city’s bus, tram and metro networks with the latter located approximately 80 metres away.
Gunther Deutsch, managing director and head of real estate transactions for Europe at Barings, said: “This sale is the second office refurbishment within months following one transaction in Paris where we completely refurbished and successfully sold an hôtel particulier style building on behalf of the same Fund. It underlines our ongoing interest in acquiring well located office buildings that need to be upgraded and converted to modern office space. As well as refurbishments, we also look for CBD office development opportunities in the major European cities across our jurisdictions. Aside the office sector we continue to target investments with value-add character in both the logistics and BTR and student accommodation sectors.”
