Bahrain’s Investcorp has revealed that it has invested around EUR1.1bn in its European real estate business division which it first launched in 2017.
The biggest private equity and alternative asset manager in the Middle East said that its European investments were made across 80 properties in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium.
Among the most notable property acquisitions was that of Kering’s Italian headquarters in Milan towards the end of last year for EUR74m and a more recent acquisition of an office in Rome occupied by the United Nations agency the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for EUR128m.
A lease extension was signed shortly before the acquisition of Kering’s Italian headquarters. The luxury conglomerate is the owner of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. The headquarters is located adjacent to Gucci’s Milan headquarters. Kering’s headquarters comprises 18,000 sq m of office space, including a canteen and café, spread across nine floors. It was fully refurbished in 2019.
“Investcorp has a long track record of investing in Italy, and we know Kering well, having successfully acquired and subsequently sold the leading fashion brand Gucci, which is now in the Kering portfolio,” said Khulood Ebrahim, real estate specialist at Investcorp.
The UN office property in Rome meanwhile is 100 per cent occupied under a long-term lease by IFAD, a United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. The structure was built in 2008 and the single-let, Class A office property comprises 32,200 sq m of gross lettable office space and is reportedly one of the very few buildings in Rome to be LEED Platinum Certified.
Yusef Al Yusef, head of Investcorp’s Private Wealth noted, “Milan and Rome continue to have a growing demand for office space, and these acquisitions are in line with our strategy of investing and growing our real estate portfolio across Europe. Going forward, we will continue to identify opportunities with the potential to drive value for our clients and grow our footprint across Europe.”
