The property arm of Swedish private equity group EQT has made its first investment in Italy through a €300m senior care homes investment venture with developer Arco Lavori.

EQT Real Estate II, the manager’s second real estate fund, has launched a joint venture with Arco to focus on developing a portfolio of purpose-built, affordable grade-A senior care homes in Northern Italy.

The new venture has secured five initial sites, located in the Lombardy and Emilia Romagna regions, with the ability to provide an aggregate of 1,010 beds. The first two senior care homes are expected to be delivered by late 2022 and early the following year.

EQT Real Estate said the venture, which is also evaluating a pipeline of projects, intends to have an initial capacity to establish an investment portfolio with a total value in excess of €300m.

Alessio Lucentini, managing director, investment advisor and head of Italy at EQT Real Estate, said: “EQT Real Estate is thrilled to be entering the Italian healthcare market and investing in a sector which is lacking grade-A facilities and is expected to benefit from robust demographic trends in the country.

“In addition to the initial five sites, we are currently evaluating a growing pipeline of projects, mainly in Northern Italy, to build a large scale, resilient and downside-protected portfolio.”

Rob Rackind, partner, investment advisor and head of EQT Real Estate, said the venture with Arco marks an exciting entrance into Italy for EQT Real Estate as it represents the first transaction in this market since the business line was established in 2015.

Emiliano Battistini, CEO of Arco Lavori, said: “There is a growing undersupply of affordable grade-A care home facilities in Italy and this trend is expected to continue during the coming years.

“The combination of EQT Real Estate’s pan-European expertise and our local reputation and know-how is expected to create a much-needed product for an important and growing part of Italy’s population.”

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