February 2, 2022HENDERSON PARK ENTERS ITALIAN MARKET WITH ACQUISITION OF MIXED-USE PORTFOLIO IN MILAN FOR €221 MILLION
- Three-asset portfolio offers substantial redevelopment potential to deliver a strong mix of well located, high quality and sustainable residential and offices into an under supplied Milan market -
London, 2 February 2022 – Henderson Park, the private equity real estate firm headquartered in London, announce the acquisition of a portfolio of three well located assets in Milan, Italy, for €221.1 million. The office-led portfolio has been acquired from Italian utility firm A2A, which currently occupies the properties and is due to fully vacate two of the assets immediately, with a planned departure from the third in around three years. This transaction is Henderson Park’s first in Italy and further extends its reach across key European cities.
The portfolio offers a number of significant asset management opportunities, with Henderson Park looking to reposition the properties in order to take advantage of increasing demand from occupiers for new, prime, amenity-led office and residential accommodation with strong sustainability and wellness credentials.
The largest property in the portfolio, Corso di Porta Vittoria 4, is an 18,000 sqm standalone office building, which occupies an entire block within Milan’s historic city centre just five minutes from the world famous Duomo. Originally constructed in the 1940s, the attractive six-storey office building has entrances on each of its four sides and a car park at underground level. While the property is well maintained and in good condition, it presents the opportunity to enhance value and maximise its prime location through a refurbishment programme.
The second asset is located at Via Balduccio da Pisa 15, in the heart of the vibrant Porta Romana district in the south-east of Milan, situated on a former railway yard undergoing significant regeneration. This area has attracted substantial investment, which will see the c. 20 hectare (190,000 sqm) site transformed into a large urban park framed by innovative residential, office and leisure developments, which are in various phases of construction.
Sitting next to the renowned Symbiosis development and just south of the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics Village, the asset comprises five buildings totalling 6,600 sqm that are currently dedicated to office and storage space and surround a central yard that is used as a car park. The buildings offer potential to increase the GLA by 16,000 sqm and undertake a comprehensive repositioning suited to both residential and office uses.
The third asset is on Via Gonin 51 in the San Cristoforo Navigli neighbourhood, in the south-west of Milan. It presents an opportunity to deliver a 50,000 sqm residential development which capitalises on local infrastructure works, that will further improve the area’s connectivity with the imminent arrival of a new M4 metro line, as well as the creation of a significant new green space on the former San Cristoforo railway yard. The asset, which was predominantly used for storage, sits on a large site presenting a range of redevelopment options, with a number of successful residential and commercial schemes in its vicinity.
Milan is the economic engine of Italy and stands as one of Europe’s leading financial and cultural centres, home to many leading global businesses and an expanding and international population. The city’s office market has proved its resilience over the past two years and is characterised by a shortage of high-quality stock against a backdrop of rising demand, with the residential market presenting a similar picture. An EU stimulus package over €250 billion is due in tranches over the coming years and is expected to accelerate Italy’s post Covid-19 recovery and offer a boost to its wider economy. This investment presents an exciting exposure to local regeneration areas in Milan, while the redevelopment aspects provide an opportunity to create value at the asset level through an increase in overall lettable area, an extended product mix, and a dramatically enhanced set of green credentials for the properties.
Henderson Park is partnering with Maston Investment Management (“Maston”), the Italian investor and developer of high-quality office and residential properties, on the development of this portfolio.
Christophe Kuhbier, Managing Director at Henderson Park, said: “This transaction provides us with an immediate and meaningful exposure to the Italian market through the acquisition of a portfolio of extremely well located assets in Italy’s main financial centre, Milan. We have identified a number of opportunities to unlock latent value from within the portfolio, both through our own asset management initiatives as well as by engaging with the wider regeneration and infrastructure improvement projects underway across the city. Milan has a constrained supply, with demand being driven by a growing and increasingly international occupier base, particularly for prime modern office space with strong environmental credentials.”
Eddy Cosenza, Founding Partner of Maston, said: “Henderson Park represents the perfect partner for us to work with to acquire and unlock the development potential in this unique portfolio, which I firmly believe is one of the most exciting investments in Milan. We share the same approach to investment and social responsibility and I am therefore looking forward to working with the Henderson Park team in bringing these projects forward over the coming years.”
Maston Investment Management is an Italian independent real estate company focused on Italy, especially – but not exclusively – on the Milanese real estate market, acting in partnership and/or as asset, project & construction manager for major institutional investors. The firm is currently managing approximately €1.5 billion of assets in top locations for office, residential and luxury retail in Milan.
Visit www.MastonIM.com for more information.
