Â鶹ӳ»­

International financial services group GWM has acquired the Market Central Da Vinci retail park near Rome for over €130 mln.

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 the potential buyer, private equity firm Orion Capital Partners, fell through in 2010 and the property was subsequently withdrawn from the market.

PropertyEU reported in June that GWM was in exclusive negotiations to buy the scheme.

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

Delivered in 2007, the Market Central Da Vinci is the largest retail park serving Rome and the greater Lazio area. The scheme is located near Rome's international Fiumicino airport and comprises 62 units.

Commenting on the deal, Marco Salvini, CEO of AIG/Lincoln Italia, said: 'The quality of the Market Central Da Vinci retail park in terms of development design, location, tenant line-up and sustainable performance, allowed the purchaser to secure financing and complete a complex deal in a challenging marketplace.'

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 is an independent financial services group established in Geneva more than 10 year ago. The group was recently active in Italy with the purchase of a €220 mln logistics portfolio let to Telecom Italia on a long-term basis.