The US-based property investment firm, LaSalle Investment Management, said it is to open a new office in Milan. The Milan operation will be headed by Francesco Coviello, who joins LaSalle as head of acquisitions Italy. He reports to Andy Watson, head of acquisitions for Southern Europe.

He joins LaSalle from Redevco where he was chief acquisition officer for Italy. Prior to this, Mr Coviello held the same position at Henderson Global Investors.

The firm said that Italy is a strategic location for the LaSalle business. “The new Milan office represents an opportunity to continue to source deals in the country, particularly in the evolving retail sector where LaSalle has gained valuable experience over the last five years,” it said in a statement.

“From 2009, Italy should also benefit from a thaw in the credit crunch, with LaSalle well positioned to leverage that opportunity. In particular, the recently announced decision to hold the 2015 World Expo in Milan should underpin growth in office developement with major infrastructure improvements,” it added.

LaSalle Investment Management, a member of the New York-listed Jones Lang LaSalle group, has about $54 billion of assets under management.