Raimondo Gaetani, Business Development Director

By Jarrett Banks

Italian real estate trophies like hotels are under attack by US hedge funds. In Europe alone, the country stands for so many first-class destinations such as Florence, Venice, Rome, Milan and Capri, not to mention Sardinia, Puglia, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast. These generate the portfolio value that investors are looking for.

Patrimonia Real Estate Investment SA, a boutique private equity firm founded by Niccolò Belingardi Clusoni, has closed some of the largest deals in Italy after Covid. Executive Edge sat down with Raimondo Gaetani, Patrimonia’s London-based Business Development Director, to learn more.

Exec Edge: W.What is the chance with Italian luxury hotels?

Italy is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world and that’s not going to change for a long time. However, the Italian luxury hotel market was already tired before Covid and it needed a major upgrade to compete with other world class destinations in terms of hotels. And I’m not saying that my hometown Rome is not still the most incredible city in the world and won’t be forever, but if these investments are not made, cities like this will become less competitive in 10 years.

Second, the negligible opportunity cost of trading and repositioning during the Covid period is a logical game for anyone trying to enter the market. This is where I’ve focused my attention by working with investors who can take advantage of this generational opportunity.

Exec Edge: You deal with families. How is the market perception of how you and Patrimonia run your company?

Unfortunately, we are seen as vultures who seduce families out of their wealth at distressed prices. This is, of course, ridiculous for a number of reasons. First, we bring the liquidity needed to the market to renovate and reposition immovable assets. In other words, we are developers and our goal is to unleash value and of course that value is going nowhere and also benefiting the local economy.

The story goes on

Second, as in our most recent deal, we can offer local operators more options to build a pipeline with our real estate partners outside of Italy, as in the same way we help foreign capital investment in Italy and also want the best that Italy has to offer to take his well-deserved place in the top locations worldwide.

Exec Edge: What is the difference between Patrimonia and all other market participants?

I would say three important things: Founder and CEO Niccolò and I make it easier to switch between original businesses, fundraising, development and wealth management. We prioritize protecting our capital in all aspects of the asset life cycle.

We mix an institutional approach with an indigenous understanding of how families work. In fact, half of our business was done with representatives of families and other institutional investors. Niccolò has an institutional background and Patrimonia applies this approach to his daily workflow, paying great attention to budgeting, from quantitative modeling to the detailed detailing of a family office. This has enabled us to extrapolate additional returns by saving all individual costs during the process. As a result, our deals had an average IRR of 20%.

We have been based outside Italy for 10 and 27 years respectively, but were born and raised in Italy, which gives us a good understanding of how to navigate the Italian market. Call us next generation translators for global trends in Italy. I would say that is the most important factor.

Exec Edge: What does 2021 look like for you?
We closed nearly a quarter of a billion in 2020 and 2021 will be a great opportunity for our sector. We will just focus on building quality pipelines for our investors and opening the market to new ones who are all looking to add value and deliver incredible projects for my home country.

We will also invest time to continue doing business with the Reuben brothers, for whom we will be bringing the next three Baglioni hotels to Europe and North America after our seven-figure acquisition of Baglioni Luna in Venice in December.

Contact:

Jarrett Banks, editor in chief

Exec Edge

jb@capmarketsmedia.com

Twitter: @Exec_Edge