MAPFRE acquires two buildings in Milan and Paris through two real estate vehicles for 80 million euros
MAPFRE has acquired two new office buildings in Milan and Paris. The first purchase made by the group was through a real estate vehicle formed with its managing partner GLL, for an amount of around 30 million euros. The group also acquired another property in Paris, for around 50 million, through a joint venture created with Swiss Life last year.
These latest investments reflect the Company’s strategy of diversifying its portfolio to include other types of financial assets and gradually increasing its alternative investments in a bid to protect profitability against the prevailing climate of low interest rates. In the same vein, the Board of Directors authorized another 500 million euros in alternative investments this summer, in addition to the 550 million already approved. In total, the amount invested in real estate assets through funds exceeds 300 million euros, while there is nearly 400 million in committed capital.
The building in Milan, called the Piazza Firenze, is located at 2, Viale Certosa. It has nine floors, over 6,500 offices and a total surface area of 8,682 square meters. The building in Vincennes, located at 20, Allée Georges Pompidou, has a surface area of 8,945 square meters.
MAPFRE entered into a deal with real estate firm GLL
Last year, MAPFRE entered into a deal with real estate firm GLL to invest up to 300 million euros in prime office space across the main office markets of the eurozone over a two- or three-year period. The Company has already used this vehicle to make its first two investments in two buildings in Paris and Hamburg, worth a total of 50 million euros between them. Specifically, the fund has concluded raising the capital of said 300 million euros, including debt. MAPFRE contributes 50 percent, while the rest is split between a group of seven institutional investors—mainly from the insurance industry—and the manager, GLL.
Swiss Life Asset Managers France also entered into a joint venture with MAPFRE in 2018, with a volume of 375 million. Under this partnership, they invested this amount into ten buildings in the French capital city at the end of July, the total surface area of which is 30,000 square meters — MAPFRE’s largest commitment in the French real estate market.
In addition to these real estate vehicles, MAPFRE has already amassed an impressive real estate portfolio in Spain, notably the building at Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid and the MAPFRE Tower in Barcelona, as well as numerous emblematic properties in other countries, including the tower on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City and One Winthrop Square in Boston.