The Italian arm of Savills Investment Management has received authorisation from the Bank of Italy to extend its operations to the management of Italian alternative investment funds (AIFs) focused on direct lending.

Savills IM SGR will offer institutional investors access to a range of direct lending solutions funding Italian borrowers, with the suite of products centred on income-producing assets owned by institutional capital.

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The strategy, which is separate from Savills IM’s European debt strategy, will be led by Giovanni Trespidi, who has been with the firm since 2021 and has over a decade of experience in the Italian real estate lending market and management of real estate AIFs.

Cristiano Ronchi, chief executive of Savills IM SGR said: “By expanding our product offering, we are able to leverage the deep investment expertise and the strong track record we have built over many years of activity in Italy, further diversifying the range of solutions available to both existing and prospective clients.”

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In Italy, Savills IM says it has a wall of dry powder to deploy into a range of assets, including sale-and-leaseback transactions and office space, focused exclusively on the delivery of grade A assets in Milan and Rome. It also has exposure to living assets, prioritising the development of build-to-rent, build-to-sell and purpose-built student accommodation, with several investment initiatives currently under construction in the main Italian cities, it says.

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Headquartered in the UK, Savills IM holds approximately €25.5bn assets under management.