Inarcassa, the Italian pension fund for self-employed engineers and architects, has mandated fund manager Fabrica to create and manage a new EUR 600 mln real estate investment fund. The appointment of Fabrica follows a bidding process launched by Inarcassa in the summer of 2009 for the management of the pension fund's real estate assets. Several major players in the Italian fund management industry participated in the bidding, including Fimit, BNP Paribas REIM, Hines Italia and Pirelli Real Estate.

Fabrica was advised by KPMG and law firm Gianni Origoni Grippo.

Before becoming operational, the fund will need to receive the green light from the Bank of Italy. On approval, Inarcassa will buy up to EUR 150 mln of units in the fund. According to news agency Radiocor, Fabrica will look for a second institutional investor in the vehicle, and could also consider to take a stake in the fund.

Inarcassa, which owns EUR 1 bn of real estate assets in Italy, intends to transfer property worth up to EUR 600 mln to the fund in the coming years, in exchange for new fund units.