Spanish real estate crowdfunding platform Urbanitae has expanded into Italy, with the goal of establishing itself as one of the leading players in the sector in the country. Since starting its activity in June 2019, Urbanitae has funded projects in Spain with a total value of over €240 million, representing more than 60% of the total volume transacted in participatory financing in Spain.
Urbanitae's internationalisation began in December, with operations launched in France and Portugal, and has now been extended to Italy, identified as a market with growth potential. In its first year in Italy, Urbanitae plans to finance projects worth €50 million, supported by a local team led by Carlo Magnoni, a professional with over 20 years of experience in real estate investment and development who has worked with major investment funds and in prominent roles within the sector.
Diego Bestard, CEO and co-founder of Urbanitae, stresses that the experience and positive results in Spain are fundamental to achieve a significant position in the Italian market. Urbanitae's goal is to become the leading European platform for participatory financing of real estate assets in two years. According to Carlo Magnoni, although real estate crowdfunding is a more recent phenomenon in Italy compared to other European countries, it has shown remarkable growth and Urbanitae is committed to boosting this trend.
Urbanitae specialises in large real estate crowdfunding operations, usually between two and five million euros, allowing investors of various sizes to participate in large real estate projects that are usually reserved for professional investors. It offers two main financing models: 65% of the operations are carried out under the equity or capital gains format, converting investors into shareholders of the entity carrying out the project, while the remaining 35% are debt projects, providing credit lines to developers to finance real estate projects.