COIMA SGR (‘COIMA’ or ‘the Company’), Italy’s leading real estate investment, development and management company, today announces that the COIMA ESG City Impact Fund (the ‘Fund’), the first urban regeneration ESG fund to be launched in Italy, has received equity commitments of about €400 million from cornerstone investors, including Italian institutional investors Cassa Forense (pension fund of lawyers), Inarcassa (pension fund of architects) and Cassa Commercialisti (pension fund of chartered accountants). With an open collaborative structure including co-investments, partnership and financial leverage, the fund already has a total investment capacity of over €1.5 billion and is targeting further equity raises up to €1 billion, to create a total investment capacity of over €4 billion.
The Fund will acquire regeneration opportunities across Italy, using a develop-to-core strategy to deliver projects across a range of sectors, including residential and hospitality, with a particular focus on neighbourhood developments to support economic development in the main Italian cities. The initial pipeline includes a number of potential sites, including former Milanese railway yards such as the Porta Romana area, which has been chosen to host the Olympic village of Milano-Cortina 2026. With a 20-year life span, this evergreen fund aims to accelerate Italy’s recovery from the economic impact of Covid-19, both through the allocation of private and public capital and through the delivery of long-term ‘green’ real estate, as well as support Europe’s overall ESG initiatives in order to build a more sustainable economy in line with the EU’s framework for the European Green Deal.
The Fund is anticipated to financially deliver a 10% IRR and stabilised 5% dividend yield, while its ESG objectives will focus on global challenges such as decarbonization, occupation, inclusive neighborhood and building design, and accountability and transparency in reporting. The ESG performance will follow the holistic vision of COIMA Roots, developed with the Principles of Responsible Investments and eight of the United Nations SDG Goals, and be measured using COIMA’s proprietary analysis tool the COIMA City Lab Charter, which the Company established in 2019 in order to provide measurable objectives and a scoring system to track a project’s performance. To evaluate ESG performance, the charter will identify specific ESG objectives and metrics for each project through the calculation of a rating that will be used to score this performance. Independent certifications will be used to guarantee certain charactertistics, such as energy efficiency and air quality, in order to promote a green and circular economy.
COIMA has a significant track record in the delivery of sustainable urban regeneration projects, achieving LEED pre-certifications and certifications across 76% of its portfolio, comprising c.40% of all certified buildings in Milan, and recently sold Gioia 22, Italy’s first Nearly Zero Energy Consumption Building to UBI Banca. COIMA is currently undertaking to achieve both WELL Community and LEED for Communities certifications for the Porta Nuova district in Milan, which would make it the first neighbourhood in the world to receive this double certification.
In May 2020, COIMA became the first Italian company to receive the European Leadership Award from the U.S. Green Building Council for its ongoing commitment to sustainable real estate development.
Manfredi Catella, Founder and CEO of COIMA said:
“The importance of a holistic approach to impact investing has never been greater. Our ESG City Impact fund demonstrates a responsible commitment from us with our partners to actively contribute to the recovery of Italy under a new economical, social and environmental paradigm that delivers long-term sustainable returns while supporting sustainable development to guarantee a greener and more inclusive future.”
