German bank Eurohypo is seeking a buyer for some EUR 150-200 mln of Italian assets which it recently took over from the insolvent owner, Magiste Real Estate, well-informed market sources have told PropertyEU.

A number of earlier attempts by the courts to sell the properties failed to raise investors' interest, prompting the lender to step in and take control of the disposal process.

Eurohypo is divesting an asset at 4 Via Silvio Pellico in Milan through an auction with a target price of EUR 40 mln. The scheme offers around 6,000 m2 of office space, with potential for redevelopment for both retail and residential uses. In Rome, Eurohypo is disposing of a 5,200-m2 office building at 51 Via Lima in the Parioli district.

Meanwhile, the bank is looking for a tenant for a vacant office building at 5 Via Borromei in the city centre of Milan. The property, which previously housed the headquarters of MeliorBanca, is to be sold on leasing of the asset. In the past the scheme was auctioned for prices ranging from EUR 88 mln to EUR 50 mln.

Eurohypo declined to comment on Friday.

Eurohypo was forced to step in after the previous owner, Magiste Real Estate, controlled by real estate tycoon Stefano Ricucci, went into controlled administration in 2007.

Eurohypo is the first bank in Italy to put assets directly on the market, as local financial institutions continue to prefer to hold on to their properties rather than sell them at a discount. 'We have so far seen no distressed sales by the banks in Italy,' Manfredi Catella, Chief Executive of Hines, said earlier this month during a conference held at the Expo Italia Real Estate fair in Milan.

'While initially Italian lenders preferred not to crystallise a loss with a sale, today they are just waiting to sell in view of a potential upside.'