1.
Expertise and knowledge of the real estate market to identify the right buyer
sme stories
We are in Tuscany, an open-air museum of small towns and relaxing landscapes. A region that bears witness to an incomparable cultural and artistic heritage. A place where you can taste genuine flavours and quality wines.
And it is in all this wonder that we find the real estate assets of TRE Holding, a Florentine real estate company, born as a spinoff of the Targetti Group.
TRE Holding is in the business of managing logistics and production assets and has the objective of enhancing the value of real estate. When you work in this sector you have to deal with a lot of stakeholders who have different and conflicting opinions.
In Campi Bisenzio we can find a logistics production center, now leased to a large and well-known Italian fashion brand, in Bibbiena a small warehouse and in Chianti the Villa La Sfacciata. The latter in particular is a historic villa in the Florentine hills that owes its name to its position, dominating the views of Scandicci, San Casciano and Impruneta from above. A villa built between 1300 and 1400 that was owned by the Vespucci family and then passed to the Antinori family in the 17th century.
So we are talking about real estate that hides great potential and needs a project based on a medium- to long-term vision.
Unfortunately, periods of economic recession leave marks that can last for years, leading to the auctioning off of assets pledged as collateral to creditors. And assets and debts also flowed into TRE Holding. But, from the outset, it was clear that the company's situation was different and that it was necessary to move the horizon beyond mere debt restructuring.
TRE Holding must therefore look to its future, accompanied by a CEO capable of acting as a trait d'union to bring all the players together in a constructive manner. The company must focus its strategy on the territory in which it operates, because it is only through knowledge of the local market that it is able to find the right people, in a short time, with advantageous conditions.
But there is another factor that TRE Holding must integrate into its future plans, and it is a factor that many companies will increasingly have to embrace, namely that of the concept of transparency, because in some contexts it is understandable that some players at the table, the lending institutions, may be distrustful. Only with a climate of trust can we arrive at a solution that is shared and positive for all.
A virtuous operation that demonstrated the possibility of turning a negative situation into an opportunity, a new beginning.
TRE Holding was created by the Targetti Industrial Group, which, following a period of difficulty, was involved in a restructuring process, creating an ad hoc company into which debts amounting to approximately EUR 130 million were transferred.
Thus TRE Holding found itself with a large debt, divided among 13 creditors, including some investment funds and a foreign bank, with no strategic direction and a multitude of interlocutors that did not facilitate dialogue.
illimity's role was to take over all debts, acting as an aggregating pole and proposing to the banks the possibility of recovering additional amounts if the valorisation and sale of the properties proved particularly successful. The first step was, therefore, to find a suitable location for the real estate on the market without selling it off. A phase lasting about a year in which the objective was to establish a constant dialogue between debtor and creditor. This is where Maurizio Ria, Managing Partner of Duke&Kay Srl, comes in. He plays a key role for TRE Holding thanks to his technical skills and characteristics of diplomacy and vision.
A delicate and complex transaction, which required long negotiations, but which illimity, neprix and TRE Holding managed to bring to a successful conclusion. The property in Campi Bisenzio was sold, and Villa La Sfacciata found a foreign buyer who fell in love with it. The small warehouse also found its destiny and was sold at a fair price.
All three properties were sold well in advance of their maturity and, with the proceeds, the company was able to pay off the mortgage debt of EUR 25 million, secure a significant return on the Participating Financial Instruments held by illimity, create a reserve for the company's costs until liquidation, and generate an extra return for the banks that had sold the credit.
