COIMA SGR, a pioneer in sustainable real estate investment, development, and management for institutional investors, has unveiled COIMA Opportunity Fund III (COF III) with the ambitious target of raising €500 million by 2024.

The primary objective of this fund is to drive the decarbonisation of real estate in major Italian cities.

Achieving its first milestone, COF III secured an initial investment of €200 million from a prominent Asian sovereign wealth fund, acting as the anchor investor. The fund is strategically focused on curating a portfolio of cutting-edge carbon-neutral real estate projects, with a specific emphasis on brown-to-green urban redevelopment and retrofit initiatives in central Milan and Rome.

These areas showcase a robust corporate demand for high-quality sustainable real estate. The portfolio's adherence to the European taxonomy on decarbonisation and LEED certification for all buildings underscores its commitment to environmental standards.

The fund, spanning a decade, primarily targets international institutional investors, aiming to secure €500 million by 2024. Leveraging financial resources, COF III will boast an investment capacity roughly double this amount. With an identified pipeline of projects valued at over €1 billion, the target return rate (levered IRR) is an impressive 14%.

COF III marks the third opportunistic fund by COIMA, following the successful disinvestment of COF I, which surpassed initial target returns, and the swift full investment of COF II, which raised over €500 million from leading international investors.

As part of COIMA's broader strategic commitment to ESG-led real estate, COF III aligns with the company's goal of raising over €3 billion in investments from 2024 to 2026 through sustainable vehicles classified under Art. 8 or Art. 9 of the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

COIMA's CEO, Manfredi Catella, emphasises the importance of cities in the transition to a low-carbon future and expresses readiness to contribute through sustainable urban regeneration efforts.

In addition to COF III, COIMA's sustainable investment portfolio includes the COIMA Impact Fund, which has raised over €800 million and is set to reach €1 billion by year-end. The fund has approved an increase in its target size to €2 billion. COIMA plans to launch a series of SFDR-aligned programmatic funds targeting €2 billion in investment through 2026, focusing on decarbonisation in sectors such as residential and tourism.

Manfredi Catella highlights the significance of COF III's first close and the expansion of the COIMA Impact Fund as milestones reflecting Italy's strategic importance for sustainable urban regeneration.

Recognising the critical role of cities in the low-carbon transition, COIMA aims to collaborate with partners, including investors, institutions, operators, and public organisations, to address climate challenges and evolving social and demographic trends.

Recently, three COIMA funds received 5-star GRESB ratings, with the COIMA Impact Fund achieving a remarkable score of 99/100 points, placing it among the top 23 funds globally.

COF II also secured a GRESB 5-star rating, leading its European peer group in the Office category with a score of 99/100 points. COF III has attracted a diverse group of investors, including the Quebec Deposit Insurance Fund (Ivanhoe Cambridge), Poste Vita, and Inarcassa, among others.

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Source: COIMA