Benetton family, Finnat bank buy into Beni Stabili's property management unit

The Benetton family and Banca Finnat Euroamerica Group have signed a preliminary agreement to buy a controlling stake in Beni Stabili Property Service (BSPS), PropertyEU has learnt.

According to well-informed market sources, the transaction was signed this week and is now awaiting regulatory approval. Completion is expected by end-July.

BSPS is part of Italian listed property group Beni Stabili. Experts say the sale allows Beni Stabili to streamline its activities.

BSPS specialises in property management and valuation as well as offering property advisory services. It manages 760 buildings, valued at EUR 7.5 bn and generating an annual rental income of EUR 308 mln, mainly on behalf of institutional investors and fund managers, according to its website.

PropertyEU understands that Banca Finnat, the Rome-based parent group of fund manager Investire Immobiliare Sgr, has agreed to take a 36% stake in BSPS, while the Benettons - one of Italy's richest families and founder of the Benetton retail chain - is taking a further 15% interest through the holding company Regia.

Benetton's Regia is a major shareholder in Investire Immobiliare Sgr, in which it bought a 20% equity interest in 2008. With EUR 4.2 bn of assets under management, Investire Immobiliare Sgr ranks as the fourth-largest property fund manager in Italy after asset management giants IdeaFimit, Prelios and Generali Immobiliare.

Earlier this year, fund manager Investire signed a partnership with Henderson Global Investors on the distribution and marketing of European funds among Italian investors.

The acquisition of BSPS will complement Investire's offering to institutional investors with the addition of a property management platform.

A review of PropertyEU's Italy investment briefing – held in London on 20 June - will be published in the next edition of the magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe