Italian property services company Prelios intends to divest its entire investment portfolio in all countries where it is active - Italy, Germany and Poland - as part of a major refocusing on asset and fund management for third parties, newly appointed CEO Paolo Bottelli has told PropertyEU.

'The percentage of owned properties will be virtually zero in the future,' Bottelli said. 'We will maintain only the co-investments necessary to align the firm’s interest with those of its clients.'

Formerly known as Pirelli & Co. Real Estate, Prelios is pushing ahead with plans to divest EUR 1.5 bn of assets this year, having carried out over EUR 700 mln worth of disposals in the first quarter alone. At home, the company is looking for a buyer for its largest development projects, Manifattura Milano and Malaspina in Milan. It recently received a EUR 250 mln binding offer for its 20% share in the Rinascente retail operating company from Thailand's Centrail Retail Corporation.

Once completed, the deal will allow negotiations to resume on another disposal, the EUR 260 mln sale of the Rinascente department store on Rome's Via del Tritone. 'This operation has been temporarily put on hold because it is very much dependant on the successful sale of the operating company,' Bottelli said. The 42-year old managed does not rule out a disposal of the Rome department store to the same Thai investor in the running for the Rinascente operating company.

The full interview appears in the June issue of PropertyEU. Please click on the link below to subscribe