Gruppo Statuto has acquired an eight-storey office block, previously occupied by BNL, in the heart of Rome city center for €70m with a business plan to convert the vacant building into a Starwood Hotel under its “W” brand.

The Italian real estate group, which owns in excess of €3bn in offices, retail and hotels, financed the asset purchase and planned capex spend with a €59m bond issuance by San Basilio Property and listed on the Vienna stock exchange.

The bond carried to classes of notes, to fund the investment and capex, at a 6% blended margin. The notes were fully subscribed to by a London based institutional investor.

First Growth and Three Stars Capital Partners structured and arranged the transaction financing, and Baker McKenzie was legal counsel to Gruppo Statuto.

The renovation is expected to last a maximum of 24 months.

The 9,250 sqm asset – located near to Via Veneto, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Colonna and the Spanish Steps – consists of a single building comprising 8 floors above ground and two floors below ground, and will be converted into a 5 star 97-key hotel operated by Starwood Hotel.

This will be Gruppo Statuto’s third luxury hotel redevelopment, following the Four Seasons and Mandarin Hotel in Milan, which opened in July 2015 and the Danieli in Venice. Gruppo Statuto is also currently developing the W Milan.

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