Â鶹ӳ»­

The Da Vinci retail park deal in Rome reflects the extent of the repricing taking place in Italy’s property market and is an indication that the country is back on institutional investors’ radar, say local market watchers.

International financial services group GWM acquired the Market Central Da Vinci retail park after fending off competition from rival group Orion Capital Managers.

GWM is forking out just over €130 mln for Da Vinci, reflecting a gross yield of nearly 9%.

The 58,000 m2 asset was bought from developer AIG/Lincoln which earlier sought - but failed - to sell the scheme in 2008. At the time, AIG/Lincoln put the asset on the market but talks with two potential buyers, private equity firms Orion Capital Managers and Carlyle, fell through after the vendor turned down offers of some €140 mln.

The landlord renewed efforts to sell the asset after the loan backing the scheme came to maturity in early 2013. In June, PropertyEU reported that GWM was carrying out due diligence on the scheme, which ranks as Italy’s largest retail park.

'The quality of the Market Central Da Vinci retail park allowed the purchaser to secure financing and complete a complex deal in a challenging marketplace,’ said Marco Salvini, CEO of AIG/Lincoln Italia. It is understood that the buyer funded the purchase with a loan from banks ING and Natixis reflecting a loan to value below 50%.

Delivered in 2007, the Market Central Da Vinci is located near Rome's international Fiumicino airport and comprises 62 units generating annual rents of €11.5 mln.

Closed at a gross yield of nearly 9%, the acquisition reflects the extent of the repricing taking place in Italy’s property market, where yields in some cases have increased by over 100-150 basis points.

GWM said the purchase ‘fits into its strategy of acquiring prime and well performing assets in Italy and across Europe and of capitalizing on the scarcity of investment capital available in the real estate sector’. GWM was recently active in Italy with the purchase of a €220 mln industrial portfolio let to Telecom Italia on a long-term basis.

The transaction testifies to the asset quality and is a further indication that Italy is back on institutional investors’ radar, according to Paolo Bellacosa, head of capital markets at CBRE which advised the buyer. ‘This deal gives an important signal to the market: it shows renewed confidence on the part of institutional players as well as international financiers in the Italian marketplace,’ Bellacosa said.

Cushman & Wakefield and Dentons advised AIG/Lincoln on the sale to GWM.