The Rome Core I Fund, managed by Castello SGR, and whose units are indirectly controlled by the European Real Estate business unit at Investcorp, acquired a property in Via Paolo di Dono, 44, in Rome, in the dynamic EUR district, from Prelios SGR - the asset management company of Prelios Group, through the Cristoforo Fund - whose shares are indirectly held by Goldman Sachs.
The property, which is currently leased to an international organization belonging to the United Nations and features eight storeys above ground and two basements, consists of an entire, free-staning building for mono-tenant offices, consisting of three rectangular wings, covering a total gross area of about 46,000 square meters and a commercial area of about 23,000 square meters, with over 174 parking spaces. Following renovation between 2005 and 2008, the building was awarded LEED Gold certification in 2010 and a subsequent upgrade to LEED Platinum in 2015, renewed in 2020. Last year, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification was confirmed at the highest Platinum level for a further five years.
Patrick Del Bigio, Chief Executive Officer of Prelios SGR, commented: "We are immensely proud to have completed this deal that we consider a true statement to the value that an ESG approach, such as that adopted at Prelios SGR, is able to bring to successful management of real estate assets. The important work performed for the renovation and enhancement of this building, with the consequent achievement of the highest standards in terms of environmental sustainability, allows us to further consolidate our role alongside the needs of investors, moving in parallel and placing the highest attention on and respect for environmental issues regarding energy redevelopment of buildings".
Giampiero Schiavo, CEO of Castello SGR, remarked: "We are extremely happy to have closed the acquisition of this property located in one of the most dynamic areas of Rome. Our goal is to further enhance the building for the benefit of our fund's investors, also focusing on an approach based on environmental sustainability”.
The investment was finalized with support to Prelios SGR provided by law firm Clifford Chance for legal, administrative and tax aspects, Prelios Integra S.p.A. for technical due diligence and Dils acting as commercial advisor, while for Castello SGR, Greenberg Traurig provided advisory for legal and administrative aspects and Avalon for technical due diligence. Investcorp was assisted by its operating partner Zanklon Capital and by Three Stars Capital Partners as debt advisor.