The Generalitat de Catalunya sold the buildings, which cover 105,000 square metres, as part of a sale and leaseback deal that will ease financial pressures on the regional government of the indebted southern European country.
AXA Real Estate has been looking to invest in Spain since the start of the year, said Chief Executive Pierre Vaquier, on the basis that "the risk of a euro zone break-up had abated and that the economic prospects of the country had improved sufficiently."
The annual rent is 16.2 million euros, AXA said, which represents a yield of about 9.5 percent, far exceeding anything on offer in the best locations of cities like London and Paris.
A flood of global investors seeking the relative safety of the world's best located real estate since the financial crisis has pushed yields down to about half that level in the British and French capitals.
Put off by the lowly returns now on offer for the best buildings in major European cities, many real estate funds are seeking out riskier deals in more outlying areas of economically stronger countries like the UK and Germany and the best areas in countries that have been harder hit by the euro zone crisis.
Origen: uk.reuters.com
