Italy is a "core" country in the asset allocation strategy of large international real estate investors. A fact emerged clear from the discussions that have expired the day of the conference Quo Vadis organized by Dla Piper.
The appointment, now in its fifth edition, took place yesterday in Milan, where it gathered a large group of prominent investors both in the audience and in the discussion panels. A "core" country that offers many investment opportunities, including in the value add segment and, hopefully, also soon in development.

From BNP Paribas real estate to Prologis, from Pggm to Benson Elliott and Axa, the big international investors have confirmed their interest in Italian real estate, and although worried about the political situation and the instability that derives from them, they have pointed out that this appearance is not new to Italy.

Some research has shown that in 2018 the foreign capital involved in the brick of our country could reach 75% of total volumes, exceeding 70% achieved in 2017. One year, the past one, which marked a record for real estate investments to 11 billion euros, a value that will not be replicated this year.

Andrew McCaffery - Global Head of Strategic Client Investments at Aberdeen Standard Investments - told the story of where he can still find interesting returns. McCaffery has analyzed "Equity, Debt and Alternative Assets" and underlined how, in an evaluation of exogenous and endogenous market risks, in the next five years there are assets such as "Europe ex Uk commercial property" or "infrastructure renewables" able to assume the expected returns of between 4% and 5%, the "global commercial property" of around 3% and the "Us commercial property" of around 2%, against "Euro inflation linked govt bonds", "euro govt bond "Which are just over 1% or" Us equities "approaching 1%.

The first panel, moderated by Lisette van Doorn, president of Uli Europe, focused its interest on the view of foreign investors regarding our country, analyzing attractive sectors, the stock, if it is sufficient, and if there will be foreign capital in the future to finance real estate development projects.
At the moment a strong interest is also addressed to the value add segment.

This is confirmed by Pggm, the Dutch pension fund. "We have acquired, in partnership with Hines, a portfolio of three Bpm properties in central Milan - Explains Tinka Kleine, head of the Private Real Estate Europe of Pggm -. We are redeveloping the buildings, one of which will be rented to WeWork ".
Olaf Schmidt, Co-Managing Director for Europe and the Middle East and Co-Head of Sector Real Estate Global by DLA Piper: "Despite the current difficult and almost hostile political climate towards Europe, Italy continues to attract the interest of international investors. However, there is a marked difference between those already present in the market and those who have not yet invested in Italy. While the former take a medium-long term view and trust the ability of the Italian market to resist current trends, those who have not yet set foot in our country prefer to wait for the moment ". And new perspectives also open up in the so-called "alternative" sectors. "International investors are mainly looking for opportunities in the residential sector - says Schmidt -, declined in every form, from student housing to microliving to its traditional interpretation and to senior living or residential assistance. But the product is scarce, we must be quick and ready to be able to respond to this market demand ".

An interest confirmed by Graham Mackie, head of UBS Asia. "Asian investors are looking for opportunities in Europe. Private capital seeks alternatives to London in the aftermath of Brexit, large investors look carefully at offices and residences in Milan and Rome. I believe that soon we will see new operations with Asian capital on the Italian market, as in the past we saw the acquisition by Fosun of Palazzo Broggi in Piazza Cordusio and of the building in Bicocca by a Korean pension fund ".

At the European level, real estate grew to 105 billion euros in the first half of 2018, while the office sector grew by 52.7 billion euros (+ 6%), retail at 24.2 billion euros (+10 %), while the industrial sector is down - € 12.6 billion (-25%) - and hotels to € 7.4 billion (-11%).

In Italy the decline in total investments in the first half of 2018 brought volumes to € 3.7 billion (-23%), but the office sector raised € 1.3 billion (-30%), while the retail grew by 31% to € 1.5 billion, the industrial sector raised € 0.6 billion (+ 57%), while investments in the hotel industry fell by 50% with € 0.3 billion. In the first nine months the volumes, according to Bn