Savills - Offices Development - Rome, Europarco

Date: 21 Sep 2005

German real estate investment manager Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immobilienfonds mbH (DEGI), advised by Savills, has forward funded an office development in Rome, that will include the Italian Ministry of Health's new headquarters, for €124 million.

The 376,736 sq ft (35,000 sq m) office development, which will front the Viale Oceano Pacifico, close to its junction with Via Cristoforo Colombo, will form the initial phase of the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) extension to be known as 'Europarco'. The Italian Ministry of Health will consolidate its existing office premises into the project, which will be arranged on ground and six upper levels and will incorporate restaurant and cafeteria facilities, conference rooms, a day-care facility for children and more than 400 basement car parking spaces. It is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2007.

The investment will be acquired through DEGI's Italian holding company, Bodio Centre Srl, which will allocate 40% of the property to its DEGI International Fund and 60% to its open-ended fund Grundwert-Fonds. This is the second acquisition by DEGI in Italy and will increase Grundwert-Fonds' allocation of European real estate to 16.9% and the Italian allocation in the portfolio of DEGI International to 15.7%.

Bärbel Schomberg, managing director of DEGI, says: "The acquisition of this investment allows us to considerably advance the situation of both funds in terms of country diversification within their respective portfolios."

Martin Brendel of DEGI, who negotiated the deal together with the asset manager's adviser Savills, adds: "This is our first acquisition in Rome and it particularly complements our investment in the Bodio Centre in Milan. We feel that the property has been let at below fair market rental value.
"Europarco has the advantage of ongoing infrastructure improvements, which will promote rental growth. These factors underline our belief that the investment will offer excellent medium- to long-term growth prospects, particularly given the marked discount to city centre CBD and core EUR rents.'

The EUR district lies south west of Rome and is the most important office location within the city. The district combines excellent infrastructure with the ability to provide larger self-contained office buildings with attractive floorplates in contrast to the central business district in the historical city centre.

Artists Impression of Europarco

Where do I go now?: » View the latest news items » View the news archive » Subscribe to Weekly Construction Newsletter » Submit news