Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Italy’s fourth largest bank, has raised €305m (L550bn) for its first closed-end property fund.
BNL Fondi Immobiliari will invest in office, retail and warehouse properties primarily located throughout Italy. The fund, which was aimed at retail investors, expects to achieve a real return of 3% after fees. This return should be around 50 basis points higher than Italian Treasury bonds.
AEW Italia, a subsidiary of Curzon Global Partners, is the fund’s investment advisor and portfolio manager. “Closed-end real estate funds have recently become popular in the Italian market given their risk profile and attractive relative returns. This is especially true given the recent decline in Italian Treasury yields,” said Ric Lewis, ceo of Curzon Global Partners.
