Overview
Founded in 1974, COIMA is the vertically integrated, real estate manager, with inhouse investment, asset, development and property management capabilities, with circa 300 people focused on delivering both ESG impact and financial returns. Among its projects is the development and ongoing management of Porta Nuova, the first neighbourhood in the world achieving both LEED and WELL Community certifications.
COIMA Holding controls several operating companies, including COIMA SGR, an investment and asset management firm managing over 30 real estate investment funds with more than €10bn AUM; COIMA REM, a development and property management company with a 50-year track record, developing and managing over 5m sqm; COIMA HT, a digital arm dedicated to integrating technology into physical spaces; and COIMA Image, specialised in architectural and interior design services.
Investment Principles & Strategy
COIMA’s investment strategy is driven by long-term value creation and ESG objectives, leveraging on market fundamentals and its vertically integrated platform to optimise risk-adjusted performance. The investment analysis is focused on:
- Economic and real estate cycles: Assessing real estate’s relative value based on past performance and forecasts of macro trends.
- Locations: Identifying prime and emerging locations through detailed mapping.
- Demand needs: Understanding the evolving end users’ requirements.
- Demand/supply gaps: Identifying market gaps for investment opportunities.
- Product development: Aligning product offerings with market demand.
- Sustainability performance: Enhancing ESG outcomes by mitigating sustainability risks and adding value to investments through the integration of key pre-defined objectives.
COIMA’s vertically integrated structure enhances the ability to identify, measure, and manage risks throughout the value chain.
Sector Forecasts
INDUSTRIAL:
Retail e-commerce has become well-established, and consumers increasingly prefer this method of shopping, reinforcing the need for domestic and international companies to have warehouses in Italy over the long term. However, the existing stock is limited and obsolete while the demand is focused on grade-A assets meeting sustainability and quality requirements. COIMA is focusing on both core and development-to-core strategies aimed at meeting international standards, ensuring strong resilience for target investments.
COIMA believes the Italian logistics market offers an attractive opportunity compared to peer European markets, due to the wide demand-supply imbalance underpinning strong rental growth.
OFFICE:
Demand has continued to polarise towards Grade-A sustainable properties in central and well-connected locations, with tenants willing to consolidate in smaller premises and pay higher rent per sqm. Given the low availability of modern stock in Milan and Rome (the lowest among European peer cities), Grade-A vacancy has reached record lows and prime rents have increased.
COIMA expects the demand polarization trend to continue driving prime rental growth which will ultimately result into capital values recovery. Given the recent substantial correction in prices, COIMA believes 2025/26 to be an attractive vintage to enter the market with a brown to green strategy focused on prime locations in Milan and Rome.
RESIDENTIAL:
Residential demand in Italy has proven to be resilient with transactions levels exceeding historical averages and prices on the rise. Milan has experienced the most significant growth, driven by Italians relocating from other cities as well as professionals and HNWIs from abroad, attracted by the favourable tax regime. Despite the growth, residential prices have maintained a sustainable level compared to peer European cities, given the low level of mortgages in Italy.
Demand is especially focused on new and modern stock, which is lacking in the market, driving pre-sales levels to record highs. Demand for rented apartments in large cities is also growing, but the stock is mostly owned by private individuals. COIMA believes these are structural demand trends which will continue over the long term.
Given the outlined demand fundamentals, the attractive entry price driven by lack of liquidity, and the sustainable residential price levels, COIMA believes development to core and brown to green strategies offer an attractive investment opportunity in the residential sector.
RETAIL:
Retailers are concentrating on prime high street locations with strong tourism appeal and top-tier shopping centres to strengthen their presence in key regional markets.
Although retail investment volumes have significantly decreased compared to previous years, high street properties and sale-and-leaseback transactions are sustaining annual transaction volumes. A positive trend in the real estate sector is driven by omnichannel strategies, proving the essential role of prime physical stores as a complement to online sales.
COIMA believes the demand polarisation trend for prime high street locations will continue, consolidating retail prime capital values in the Italian market.
HOSPITALITY:
Tourist arrivals in Italy since the end of the pandemic have spiked and ADR growth of the key Italian touristic cities has been higher than those of other European peers. The growth has been especially strong in the luxury segment where the offering in Italy is limited due to low penetration from international chains and generally obsolete stock. Given Italy’s appeal as a premier travel destination and the underdeveloped luxury accommodation market, COIMA believes there is an extremely attractive investment opportunity to fill the gap.
Strategic Corporate Development
Urban regeneration, brown to green strategies, ESG impact and digitalization are the key pillars of COIMA’s strategy. The group operates according to an integrated model based on industrial real estate and financial skills, enhanced by data automation and digitalisation, with an ESG impact approach across the entire value creation chain, focused on the continued development of its people, technology and innovation.
COIMA SGR, in application of the European regulation 2019/2088 (SFDR), decided to adopt the ‘comply’ approach when considering the negative effects of its investment decisions on ESG sustainability factors; targeting 100% of the portfolio to be disclosed under art. 8 SFDR by 2030.
COIMA’s ESG objectives for the next few years follow the decarbonisation guidelines of the EU: phasing out the use of fossil fuel, aligning 100% of the properties to energy efficient real estate asset, in line with 2050 CREEM decarbonisation target of 2°C.
COIMA is currently leading some of the largest urban regeneration projects in Italy, including Porta Romana railway yard, Valtellina/Farini, and Milano Sesto, one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe.
Performance Verification
COIMA’s investment strategy has integrated sustainable investment objectives and is focused on creating a high-quality real estate portfolio, offering sustainable long-term returns. COIMA ESG Metrics is the company’s sustainability performance and risk analysis tool, which aims to generate, measure, monitor and provide sustainable, economic and social performance through key indicators based upon ESG parameters.
COMPLIANCE STATEMENT
In compliance with the Italian regulatory framework, the Company has established an internal Compliance Function. COIMA SGR designated a Chief Compliance Officer, who is in charge of ensuring that company is complying with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, as well as internal codes of conduct, policies and procedures. The Chief Compliance Officer is also Head of the Anti- Money laundering Function.
