Italian asset manager Coima said on Friday that it has acquired seven UBI Banca assets in Milan, facilitating the Italian lender’s acquisition of and relocation to a new 120 metre-high head office building in the Porta Nuova development.
The asset – known as Gioia 22 – is set to become Italy’s first tower boasting Nearly Zero Energy Consumption Building standards and is expected to house the new Milanese headquarter of UBI Banca on completion of construction works next year.
Under the deal, UBI is taking control of the asset by buying 100% of the shares in the Porta Nuova Gioia fund, which owns the Gioia 22 building. Although the name of the vendor was not disclosed, PropertyEU understands the asset was sold by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADIA. Financial details were not disclosed, but market sources put the deal volume at around €500 mln.
Coima has also entered into an agreement with UBI Banca which will allow it to acquire directly or by designating a third-party investor, at its discretion, a stake in the Porta Nuova Gioia fund at the start of the rent in 2021.
Meanwhile, vehicles managed by Coima on behalf of investors, have bought seven assets which will continue to be occupied by UBI Group until the lender moves to the new headquarters in Via Melchiorre Gioia 22. Upon vacancy, Coima plans to launch a €500 mln urban regeneration programme on the assets.
‘This transaction is a strong signal for Italy at both a domestic and international level that we have entered an important phase of economic activity restarting following the Covid-19 pandemic,’ said Manfredi Catella, founder and CEO of Coima. The two deals are understood to be worth a total approaching €1 bn.
UBI Banca, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole financed the Coima funds involved in the acquisition process. In the transaction, Coima was assisted by Citigroup as financial advisor.
Coima will continue to manage the Gioia 22 project as an investment and asset manager, with Coima in the role of development manager for the technical management of urban and building development.
The Gioia 22 tower is being built on the site of the former office of pension fund Inps, which vacated the asset in 2012. The demolition works started in November 2017, with construction kicking off in summer 2018.
Gioia 22 will be the first new-generation building within the Porta Nuova Gioia district, where Coima owns over 150,000 m2 of space.
The building, which encompasses 35,800 m2 over 26 floors, will be equipped with over 6,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels which together with the use of ground water will allow a 75% reduction in energy requirements compared to the more recent directional towers in Milan.
