What is a real estate club deal and why is it booming in Italy?
There is a new table in Italian real estate, but it is not for everyone. Seated around it are entrepreneurs, family offices, and investors who no longer want to rely on slow and expensive funds, but want to build their own operations. This is the world of real estate club deals, the “tailor-made” investment formula that allows private capital to be pooled to access high-profile properties, share know-how, and, above all, maintain direct control over decisions.
“Real estate club deals have established themselves as one of the most popular ways for entrepreneurs, family offices, and institutional investors to invest in real estate,” explains Maurizio Fraschini, partner at Plusiders. “This model allows private capital to be pooled to access high-value assets that would otherwise be inaccessible to individual investors through targeted acquisition, development, or redevelopment transactions.”
Club deals vs. funds: why investors are changing course
The appeal of club deals also lies in the fact that, compared to traditional funds, they offer transparency and speed of decision-making. “Closed-end investment fund structures,” continues Fraschini, “are increasingly showing the problems of governance that is distant from investors, high management costs that significantly erode net returns, very long time horizons, and very little possibility of liquidating the investment early.”
In a real estate club deal, on the other hand, “a small group of investors subscribes to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up specifically for the transaction. The promoter—often an advisor or experienced operator—identifies the opportunity, structures the deal, and coordinates the raising of capital. Investment management is shared, with contractually defined governance rules.”
How a real estate club deal works: phases, governance, and advantages
The operational phases are precisely defined: origination, structuring, capital raising, active management, and exit. “The strategic advantages of a club deal,” notes Fraschini, “are access to high-value transactions, greater negotiating power, flexible governance, risk diversification, and exit flexibility.” Added to this is the possibility of building tax-efficient vehicles, thanks to dedicated SPVs, preferential taxation of dividends, or even transformation into SIIQs for larger-scale transactions.
But be careful: “limited liquidity, the need for clear governance, and an adequate legal and tax structure require careful planning. It is therefore essential to rely on qualified professionals to maximize the efficiency of the transaction and minimize risks.” .
Where real estate club deals are investing today: offices, residential, and secondary cities
From an asset perspective, the Italian market is showing very specific trends. As Alessandro Lombardo, commercial director of the Gabetti group, explains, “in private and mixed club deals, the focus remains on assets where the business plan is clear and the risk is controllable.”
At the top of the list are “offices in areas with a high concentration of headquarters with strong tenants and high ESG standards.”
Lombardo cites concrete examples of “mixed” transactions organized with HNWIs who consciously allocate a portion of their savings to the real estate segment: “I am thinking of Via Montebello 18, sold in 2022 to a club of institutional investors and UHNWIs (€235 million), and the former Palazzo delle Poste in Piazza Cordusio (€247 million), sold in 2020 to another club.”
But the trend also extends “to secondary cities: in the two-year period 2024-2025, our group assisted several club deals in Naples and Bologna, with investment tickets of around €20 million,” adds Lombardo.
The boom in prime residential and value-add transactions
The prime/value-add residential sector in city centers (conversions, subdivisions) is also very dynamic, with more pure private clubs, continues Lombardo. A very clear example is Casa Betania, Via San Vittore 49 in Milan, acquired in 2024 by a club of investors for conversion into luxury residences. And there is no shortage of value-add conversions to residential properties in Florence and Bologna, with ticket prices around €50-60 million.“
Why club deals appeal to private wealth: HNWIs, family offices, holding companies
Club deals are often described as a ”tailor-made” product. “It is more widespread within the private wealth ecosystem than it was five years ago, but it is not a mass market,” explains Lombardo. “In Italy, the share of private wealth (HNWIs, family offices, family holding companies) in investment volumes is growing, partly because platforms and private banks have ‘industrialized’ the club format on individual assets or mini-portfolios. The ‘mixed’ club also allows access to trophy and operational assets with higher ticket prices (see Turati/Montebello/Cordusio). Globally, studies on family offices confirm that club deals/co-investments are now widely used models, precisely to share expertise, dilute risk, and have tailor-made governance.”
Who are the most active investors? “Large families and family offices, entrepreneurs and holding companies, as well as selective institutional investors as co-investors,” replies Lombardo.
Club deals and hospitality: why they are conquering hotels, resorts, and new formats
Confirmation of a trend that is set to last also comes from the world of hospitality. “Club deals allow private investors, family offices, and HNWIs to pool capital and expertise to access larger assets or value-add transactions that would be difficult to achieve individually,” explains Gabriele Fiumara, AssocRICS and Senior RE Consultant Hospitality & Operations at Wcg. “This reduces individual risk and increases competitiveness in a market with high prices and strong competition.”
In the hotel sector, “the most attractive assets are high-end city hotels in the 12 major Italian cities, leisure resorts in premium destinations, conversion and repositioning projects, aparthotels and extended–stay, but also student housing, co-living and senior living, hybrid segments with growing interest for investors.”
According to Fiumara, club deals are by no means a fad: “They offer rapid decision-making, operational flexibility, and direct governance, which are key elements in a competitive and selective market. In the hospitality sector, where many transactions require value-add interventions and specific operational skills, they allow capital and know-how to be combined in a targeted manner, seizing opportunities on individual assets or small portfolios with a strategic approach.”
Real estate club deal returns: industry figures
And what about returns? “The expected returns for real estate (hospitality) club deals can be competitive,” notes Fiumara. Core/Core-Plus: Net IRR of approximately 5–6%, low risk, and limited leverage. Value-Add: Net IRR of 9–10%, hold period of 3–6 years. Opportunistic/Development: i.e., high-risk projects, with a net IRR of over 15%.”
(Article taken from We Wealth magazine no. 84, November 2025)
