Savills Investment Management launches EUR300 million fund on behalf of two Italian investors
Savills Investment Management (“Savills IM”), the international real estate investment manager, has today launched the Mercury Fund (the ‘Fund’) which it will manage on behalf of CONAD, the largest consortium of independent retailers in Italy, and Gruppo Cattolica Assicurazioni, a leading Italian insurance company.
The Fund is structured to allow three CONAD cooperatives to sell and lease back retail properties worth a combined EUR300 million across central and northern Italy on long-term leases. This will enable CONAD to focus on its core retail activities in Italy, accelerating the growth that has characterized its strategy in recent years.
Fund consists of three sub-funds (divided as per the assets of the three co-operatives), each managed by Savills IM SGR. The Fund meets the investment objectives of Gruppo Cattolica Assicurazioni in an era of low interest rates, ensuring stable dividends over a long term horizon. Each of the three CONAD co-operatives possess a 49% stake in each of their sub-funds, with Gruppo Cattolica Assicurazioni holding the remaining share of 51%.A preliminary loan of EUR170 million has been granted to the Fund by the two leading Italian banking groups, Banca IMI (Gruppo Intesa) and Unicredit.
Giuseppe Oriani, Managing Director of Savills IM SGR, commented:
“We are proud to have actively contributed to the development and execution of this important project, which consolidates over 12 months of work and underlines our reputation as an independent operator with highly specialised resources and a long-term strategic vision.
“It represents a significant milestone for our activities in Italy, which traditionally were focused on the development of initiatives aimed mainly at foreign investors in the Italian market.”
Savills IM SGR is the Italian regulated subsidiary of Savills IM and part of the Savills Group. One of the leading Italian real estate fund management companies, it has a team of 28 professionals based in Italy and manages over EUR2 billion of assets.About Savills Investment Management (Savills IM)
· Savills Investment Management is an international real estate investment manager with offices in Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney and Tokyo
· As at 31 March 2016, Savills Investment Management managed a total of c.€17 billion of assets
· Savills Investment Management is the brand name for entities in the Savills Investment Management group, including Savills Investment Management LLP, Savills Investment Management (UK) Ltd, Savills Investment Management (Luxembourg) Sàrl, Savills Investment Management (Jersey) Limited, Savills Investment Management SGR SpA, Savills Investment Management (Germany) GmbH, Savills Investment Management KVG GmbH, Savills Investment Management Pte Ltd, Savills Investment Management Asia Limited and Savills Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited
· Savills Investment Management LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England No: OC306423 regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
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