Beni Stabili fund buiness teams up with Ream Sgr

Beni Stabili Gestioni Sgr, the fund management arm of listed group Beni Stabili, is forming a joint venture with peer Ream Sgr for the creation, promotion and management of new property funds in Italy.

In a statement, the Milan-based real estate investment trust said the joint venture will be limited to future projects while not having an impact on the management of the existing funds.

'The amount of work to be done in certain segments of the Italian property market means that we have to combine strengths, especially with similar companies. For Beni Stabili Gestioni sgr and the entire Beni Stabili Group, this is definitely an opportunity to improve professionally and increase our market efficiency along with such a high quality new partner,' commented Chairman Aldo Mazzocco.

Ream Sgr, based in Turin, manages around EUR 800 mln of assets in Italy while Rome-headquartered Beni Stabili Gestioni Sgr has EUR 1.6 bn of assets under management.

The tie-up is the latest of a string of alliances recently signed between Italian fund managers to consolidate their position in the market. Henderson Global Investors has joined forces with Investire Immobiliare to develop and distribute property funds in Italy.

In late April, Italian investment and fund manager Castello acquired RREEF's Italian property fund business, RREEF Fondimmobiliari, adding nearly EUR 500 mln to its assets under management.