(Coquille in the title)
MILAN (Reuters) – French luxury group Kering announced on Thursday that it had finalized the acquisition of an 18th century building located on Via Monte Napoleone, in the heart of Milan’s most exclusive shopping district, from Blackstone Property Partners Europe for an amount of 1.3 billion euros.
This operation is the latest in a series of acquisitions of real estate in fashion hotspots by large luxury groups.
The building, which already houses the Saint Laurent boutique, extends over five floors. It includes more than 5,000 square meters of commercial space, making it one of the largest properties on via Monte Napoleone, the Gucci owner highlighted in a press release.
The building also houses the historic Cova patisserie, purchased by French luxury giant LVMH in 2013.
“This investment is part of Kering’s selective real estate strategy, which aims to secure highly desirable key locations for its homes,” the group said.
Kering, which warned last month of a likely drop in its first quarter sales of around 10%, has clarified its ambition to manage its real estate portfolio in order to retain shares in exceptional properties, alongside co-investors, in dedicated funds, like what was done for a Tokyo building intended for its Italian brand Bottega Veneta.
“This transaction represents an excellent outcome for our investors and demonstrates exceptional investor demand for high-quality real estate in the strongest markets,” said James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone.
Blackstone acquired the building in 2021, through a portfolio comprising 14 properties, paying a total of 1.1 billion euros for all assets.
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; with contributions from Mimosa Spencer in Paris; French version by Dimitri Rhodes, edited by Kate Entringer)
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