It’s the end of an era for Italian fund and asset management group Prelios, which has sold its German asset management arm, Prelios Immobilien Management, to London-based Girlan.
Those with longer memories will remember Prelios Immobilien Management, a Hamburg-based retail real estate specialist, as part of the then very ambitious Pirelli Real Estate, with ambitions to become a big European player before pulling its horns right back during the 2008/9 financial crisis.
Prelios now becomes Girlan Immobilien Management with immediate effect, with its headquarters in the UK. Its previous owner, Milan-based Prelios, said it had sold all its shares in the firm in order to focus more closely on its Italian business. New owner Girlan is a private equity partnership owned by Swiss entrepreneur Paolo Francesco Calmetta.
The German unit currently manages real estate assets on behalf of private and institutional owners worth some €2bn, covering around 1 million sqm of lettable area across Germany.
According to Girlan, the Hamburg firm's day-to-day business involving its existing mandates and present spectrum of deliverables will continue unchanged, under Martin Mörl, the long-time boss of Prelios in Germany. These involve management of eight shopping centres as well as 45 office assets, commercial buildings and department stores, mixed-use properties and city districts. The firm facilitated more than €4.7 bn worth of transactions over the past ten years.
New owner Calmetta commented: “Girlan Immobilien Management is a profitable, group-independent retail specialist which brings high-skilled teams, unique know-how, long-term experience, comprehensive market expertise and an impressive track record to the table.
Structural change and excess floor area in the retail sector make market specialists more important than ever – we’re aware of significantly increased demand for management and consultancy among the owners and investors in this field.
“With this in mind, we will keep pursuing our present approach and continue to expand the business units repositioning, transformation, asset management, property management and centre management.”
