Dario Leone has joined Savills to lead the team, which will be based in Milan. He joins from Cushman & Wakefield, where he spent 14 years and led its hospitality team. Dario has over 20 years of experience advising major industry players in advisory services, operator selection and capital markets throughout Italy and has successfully managed more than 50 operator selection mandates for both hotels and resorts in key prime markets and leisure destinations.   

Savills has additionally recruited Giuseppe Leonardi and Marta Miragoli to work with Dario.

Giuseppe has joined the team as an Associate, and has worked within the hospitality real estate sector for the last 8 years,  across advisory services as well as transaction services. 

Marta earned her experience in the hospitality sector working in Marriott hotels and, for the last three years, she has worked within the real estate industry, on valuation and advisory services and operator selection. She will be a Consultant within the Savills team.

According to Savills research, there has been significant international investor appetite for hotel assets in Italy, with ten year average figures indicating that 80% of all investment activity can be attributed to cross border capital. 

In Q1 this year, Savills observed that €430m was invested into the Italian hospitality sector, an uplift of 300% yoy and 28% above the five year average. In this first quarter, 98% of capital invested was international.

Tim Stoyle, Head of Hotels, Savills UK, comments, “Given the strong market fundaments, we have been eager to establish a team in Italy and we are extremely pleased to have recruited Dario and his team to support the growth of this service line, both in country and across our EMEA business. The ambitious growth strategy for our hotel sector expertise will now continue to be focussed in other key EMEA markets and further afield.” 

Dario Leone, Head of Hospitality & Leisure, Savills Italy, adds, “It is an enormous pleasure to join Savills here in Italy. The market is currently very hot, thanks to significant investor appetite and the interest of national and international hotel operators for hotel assets.  Not only have we seen record transactional activity, but there is a pipeline of numerous new openings planned in Italy by leading international hotel operators. I am extremely proud to be joining Savills, with its extensive international network and deep-rooted expertise in the sector.”