In the race for a redevelopment of over half a billion euros in Rome, investigated for corruption in Milan. The protagonist is the real estate entrepreneur Manfredi Catella, president of the Coima real estate group.
The Milanese investigation into urban planning
Table of Contents
- The Milanese investigation into urban planning
- The involvement of the Coima real estate group
- Coima Sgr’s business in Rome
- The transformation to Porta Portese
- A billion euros to invest
- Running for the former Flaminio barracks
- What and manfredi catella
- Coima’s statements about the investigation
- The letter to the stakeholders
The storm unleashed by the investigation into urban planning in Milan directly involves one of the most visible companies in the Italian real estate world. We are talking about the Coima real estate group, a company that has in its “core business” the construction of building transformations and the management and enhancement of buildings, often luxury. The president, Manfredi Catella, according to the Milanese prosecutors, would be at the center of a case of corruption, in which the councilor for regeneration Giancarlo Tancredi and the former president of the landscape commission Giuseppe Marinoni are involved among others. Catella on 23 July will be questioned, and could subsequently end up under house arrest.
The involvement of the Coima real estate group
The Milanese investigation indirectly also affects Rome. After making luck in the shadow of the Duomo, creating iconic projects such as the vertical forest and the redevelopment of Porta Nuova, Catella through one of the holding companies, the Coima Sgr, for about two years he has firmly put his hands also in the Capitoline market. The company is exploiting the opportunity of a season of important transformations and redevelopments in Rome, politically sponsored by the Gualtieri junta and facilitated by the latest political choices made on urban planning implementation, with the possibility of nine -digit investments from here to the next ten years. In fact, much has already been set.
Coima Sgr’s business in Rome
In May 2024, for example, three historical and valuable properties in the heart of Rome were acquired by Coima Sgr, who took over from Morgan Stanley and Zurich in the management of the Sapphire fund. Total value of buildings: over 200 million euros. This is the headquarters of the Council of State in Campo de ‘Fiori (Palazzo Monte), that of the Prime Minister in via del Corso (Palazzo Verospi) and the Sciarra Gallery, always in the Via del Corso area, where the Anac is also based. For a total area of about 45 thousand square meters.
The transformation to Porta Portese
A year later, last June, again the Milanese fund gave news of the acquisition of an entire building in Porta Portese, through an ad hoc fund, the COF III, that is “Coima Opportunities Fund”. In this case, the company that is part of the Catella Group has invested 50 million euros to become nine floors to via Michele Cargani, now for rent at the Ministry of University and Research. In the future, however, everything will be transformed into a condominium.
A transformation project that is part of the “ESI” of Porta Portese, an urban regeneration program promoted by Roma Capitale that aims to enhance the area by architecturally redefining the open spaces, creating connections between via Portuense and via degli Orti di Trastevere and making green via Portuense. To finance the company in via Cargani is also the Banca Bper, with 18 million euros.
A billion euros to invest
But the ambitions of Coima Sgr in Rome do not end there. The same company had made it known that it had already invested 500 million euros “with the aim of exceeding a billion between funding and co-investigations in the near future”. A figure that could have already reached last autumn, obtaining the green light to the transformation of the area of the former barracks in via Guido Reni, to Flaminio.
Running for the former Flaminio barracks
A 500 million euro deal, those that Coima had actually put on the table participating in the race launched by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. But that the latter did not, in the end, considered adequate. And so it was all questioned, with the opening of a new tender that in recent weeks has been reaching a crucial point, that is, the evaluation of the binding offers received by July 7th. Coima Sgr is there, in the race together with a consortium composed of Dea Capital, investing Sgr (Banca Finnat) and Fabrica Immobiliare Sgr (Caltagirone group) and another giant of the US immobiliar, Hines.
What and manfredi catella
Livornese, 57 years old, Manfredi Catella graduated in Economics and Gettle from the Catholic of Milan. He subsequently obtained a master’s degree in territorial planning and Real Estate in Turin. Founding partner and CEO of Coima Res, majority shareholder and CEO of Coima Sgr, president of Coima Srl, all stars of a real estate galaxy founded by the Catella family over 50 years ago. As MilanoToday writes, he was also an Italian manager for Hines and worked between Chicago and Paris.
Coima’s statements about the investigation
On July 16, Mafredi Catella declared the following: “Today we received notification of the Court of Milan to inform us of the current investigation relating to a design assignment entrusted by our company to the architect Scandurra. Given its role, also as a member of the landscape commission of Milan until 2024, the hypothesis that the assignment entrusted may have influenced the professional conduct in the commission in the commissioned by the projects, we have provided, promptly to provide what is requested and to carry out the internal checks to confirm the regularity on the matter, that we will be able to clearly represent in the judicial office.
The letter to the stakeholders
Three days later, Catella always wrote to the stakeholders (all subjects bearers in the real estate group) regarding the judicial events that involve him: “In order to give full and adequate representation on the occasion of the interrogation ahead of the investigating judge (judge for preliminary investigations, editor’s note) scheduled for Wednesday 23 July at 2 pm, we will proceed to produce an exhaustive memory with all the objective tests of the non -correspondence of cornerstones of the position of the prosecutor’s office.
We are grateful to you for the trust in our professionalism and integrity that it will be our care to demonstrate promptly and with determination in all offices “.
