(Finance) – With theopening of the Verona office in May 2019, the first of the 27 territorial offices, and of the CDP Space of Padua in April 2021, the operations of the Group in Veneto in favor of small, medium and large enterprises and local authorities has registered a significant increase in the last three years, during which resources have been committed for about three billion in favor of over 13,200 companies and about 160 public bodies.
COMPANIES – From 2019 to 2021, CDP carried out an intense activity in support of SMEs, Mid-Cap and Large Corporate Veneto. Resources have been committed, both directly and through financial intermediaries 1.9 billion in support of over 13,200 companies. In detail, CDP directly financed 89 companies in the Region with approximately 830 million. Operations had a positive impact on the territory, thanks to the resources allocated to important strategic sectors such as agriculture, fashion and hi-tech. The operations in favor of: Zamperla, 6 million intended to support the development plan and projects of the leading company in the market of attractions for amusement parks; OTB, 50 million to support investments linked to the growth of Diesel, one of the primary players in the clothing sector; Acciaierie Beltrame, € 25 million to support the investment plan aimed mainly at growth, the purchase of new plant and machinery and the acquisition of a company operating in merchant bars;
Also remember the program Basket Bond Supply Chainan alternative finance tool promoted by CDP and UniCredit to finance the growth in Italy and abroad of companies belonging to the strategic sectors of the Italian economy, which has made it possible to support the investment and development plans on the national and international market of Masi Agricola and Pasqua Vigneti & Cantine, companies
leader in the wine sector.
To support the country’s entrepreneurial fabric even more, CDP has made available to financial institutions and intermediaries: resources, products and solutions to indirectly favor access to credit for all those companies, in particular SMEs, which would otherwise not have been able to access Cassa’s operations.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – CDP has engaged since 2019 resources of over 350 million to support approximately 160 public entities in the Veneto regionfor the realization of investments mainly in the field: schools, upgrading of public buildings and roads.
In particular, in favor of local authorities, the loan of over 170 million (with EIB funding) in favor of the Veneto Region for school building interventions; the 5.8 million loan to the Municipality of Venice for the purchase of the Toniolo Theater and the 4.5 million loan in favor of the Vicenza Municipality for the purchase of Palazzo Thiene.
With regard to non-territorial public entities, we note the 4 million loan aimed at supporting the purchase and installation of a new electric crane in the Padua freight village. Furthermore, in 2020, about 180 local authorities joined the renegotiation of existing mortgages for a total of 640 million of residual debt, freeing up resources to be allocated to the local economy for about 39 million, thanks to the savings obtained on the interest due. .
INFRASTRUCTURE – CDP had a fundamental rolein synergy with other investors, in support development plans
important infrastructural works in strategic sectors for the Veneto area, from the water network to energy, from high-speed roads to the circular economy, committing approximately 570 million in the period 2019-2021.
The most significant transactions include: Consorzio Viveracqua, subscription of two basket bonds: the first for 248 million (share
CDP 30 million) to support the company’s development plans for the local water network serving 320 municipalities and 2.3 million inhabitants, the second for 150 million (CDP 37 million) for the investment plans of the consortium companies mainly concerning
the modernization and efficiency of water networks; Million (SAVE): granting of a syndicated loan for a total amount of up to 640 million (CDP share 90 million) to support the recovery and development of the company operating mainly in the management of the Venice and Treviso airports.
VENTURE CAPITAL – The Group’s activity for the territory also extends to Venture Capital. In particular, through its investment activity, CDP Venture Capital SGR (CDP VC) has already directly supported 9 startups in the region with a total commitment of approximately 8 million. In Veneto, FuturED is already operational, the program of the CDP National Accelerators Network dedicated to innovative startups and SMEs operating in the edutech sector and which sees Ca ‘Foscari University as a scientific partner. Furthermore, the University of Verona, together with the Italian Institute of Technology, Federico II University of Naples and the Scuola Superiore di Sant’Anna of Pisa, is among the centers belonging to RoboIT, the National Technology Transfer Center dedicated to robotics, which CDP VC finances through its Technology Transfer Fund to encourage the birth of new high-tech startups created within universities and research centers of excellence.
Among all the companies supported by CDP VC through both direct and indirect operations, the operations in favor of: Rubber Conversion, active in the recycling of rubber from pre and post consumer products and waste; Hexadrive Engineering (renamed Newtwen), a spin-off of the University of Padua accelerated by the MotorValley program of Modena, which has created software to develop
quick and automatic digital twin of electric motors.
REAL ESTATE – The CDP Group, through the investee CDP Immobiliare SGR, has promoted its commitment to urban regeneration on publicly owned and Group properties. In particular, there are some projects dedicated to sustainable living and culture with: the transformation of former public buildings into student residences, as a contribution to student housing, as in the case of Santa Marta (a 650-bed project), the result of the renovation of a historic complex dating back to the end of the 19th century (seat of the former Venetian cotton mill), adjacent to the Cà Foscari University; the creation of training infrastructures dedicated to digital innovation (start-up incubator, consultancy for business innovation and training), such as the construction of a campus in Roncade (TV) for the activities of H-Farm which was inaugurated in September 2020 and is currently operational, designed to accommodate 3,000 people, of which 2,000 students; the creation and installation of new exhibition, museum and training spaces in the properties sold by CDPI SGR to art investors, including those of international standing. An example of this is in Venice (i) Palazzo Manfrin, where the sculptor Anish Kapoor has used an exhibition space for his works, the island of San Giacomo in Padulo which will be transformed into a research and experimentation center for contemporary arts and environmental technologies, Palazzo Duodo which will host a start-up incubator, (iv) Palazzo Diedo which will be a center for the exhibition of the Berggruen collections and finally (v) the Prisons of San Severo and the island of Sant’Angelo delle Powders, which will play a role in the growth of Venice on the international art scene.
The operations of CDP Immobiliare in Veneto, specifically in the provinces of Verona, Venice, Treviso, Padua and Vicenza, have also been extended to Social Housing through the Fondo Investimenti per l’Abitare (FIA) which aims to carry out interventions on the territory for the construction of 600 social housing (of which 500 already completed).