Pirelli Real Estate is re-focusing its business on services and asset management activities to take account of the scarcity of operators in the market, Giulio Malfatto, CEO of Pirelli & Co. Real Estate said during a conference on the first day of the Expo Italia Real Estate Fair in Milan.
Pirelli Real Estate is re-focusing its business on services and asset management activities to take account of the scarcity of operators in the market, Giulio Malfatto, CEO of Pirelli & Co. Real Estate said during a conference on the first day of the Expo Italia Real Estate Fair in Milan.
'Pirelli RE is reverting to being a services company,' Malfatto said, noting that the firm posted a EUR 5 mln profit from its services business in the first quarter of the year, after a loss of EUR 30 mln in 2008 and breaking even in 2009.
'I am more than confident that we will report a EUR 30 mln in profit from our services activities by the end of the year,' he added.
Regarding Pirelli Group's ongoing plans to spin off its real estate arm, Malfatto said he sees the operation as 'opportunity rather than a problem.' 'We are losing an industrial group with most of its activities abroad. Where are the lost synergies for us?' he asked rhetorically. On the positive side, the company will gain more direct access to several institutional investors such as insurance group Generali, as well as banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca, current shareholders of Camfin.
Malfatto: 'We have had an aggressive business (in the past), even though we did not have large sources of available capital. Today, we can take advantage of our human resources - a staff of 600 just in Italy - to be more competitive in our services and asset management business.'
He pointed to Pirelli RE's recent mandate to sell part of pension fund Enasarco's residential portfolio, together with BNP Paribas REIM. 'We could be competitive in our offer because we have the expertise to do things in-house and do not have to externalise,' he concluded.