Italian asset manager Orizzonte is planning to invest up to EUR 100 mln in the development of parking lots in Italy's main urban centres. The investments will be made through an 80/20 partnership of Orizzonte's Sistema Infrastrutture fund and the local property services group RE.

Italian asset manager Orizzonte is planning to invest up to EUR 100 mln in the development of parking lots in Italy's main urban centres. The investments will be made through an 80/20 partnership of Orizzonte's Sistema Infrastrutture fund and the local property services group RE.

In a statement this week, the fund manager also announced the start of construction of a first parking facility offering 236 parking spaces in Rome. The development of the property, which is due to be completed by the end of 2011, is being carried out by Castelli RE Costruzioni, a subsidiary of Gruppo RE, while the commercialisation of the parking spaces will be managed by RE Intermedia, with financing granted by BCC Roma.

Orizzonte said that it is currently studying other investments in the cities of Rome, Milan, and Genoa.

'The agreement with an experienced party such as Gruppo RE allows us to access a great number of deals in the short term by investing in a sector which is showing strong growth and which delivers interesting investment returns,' said Orizzonte's CEO Aldo Napoli.

Orizzonte Sgr's Sistema Infrastrutture vehicle has a size of EUR 300 mln and is currently the second largest infrastructure fund in Italy, according to Orizzonte.