P&G SGR and UpsideTown Launch Energy Town Fund Dedicated to Renewables

P&G SGR and UpsideTown are launching EnergyTown, an alternative investment fund created through a partnership between an asset manager and an equity crowdfunding portal dedicated to the renewable energy segment.

EnergyTown, a closed-end, restricted fund under Italian law, authorized by Consob, will be managed by P&G Sgr, an Italian asset management boutique specializing in alternative investments.

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A campaign restricted to institutional investors only

The Energy Town fund has just opened its first round of placements through the equity crowdfunding platform Upsidetown and can be subscribed to by professional investors-institutions, financial intermediaries, banking foundations, large corporations, and private clients, and HNWIs-against a minimum ticket of €100,000.

EnergyTown represents an innovation in terms of the target for raising funds on a fintech platform: the first round that has just started provides funding between €4 and €20 million, but shares can also be placed in subsequent campaigns, up to €100 million.

Thanks to the innovative operating model and the use of leverage, the capital raised can be translated into about €200 million in on-the-ground investments for about 100 energy transition projects.

The fund will invest up to €100 million in “green” projects

The goal of the fund is to invest mainly in the venture capital of Italian SMEs and innovative startups dedicated to the development of green energy projects in the country: a substantial percentage of asset allocation will be specifically earmarked to promote the establishment of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs).

In addition to supporting the energy transition and combating climate change, the Fund will therefore concretely support innovation and growth in the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, moreover by investing in a sector decoupled from the performance of listed markets.

Thanks to the CER component, moreover, the Fund will promote forms of self-generated consumption, with economic, environmental, and social benefits to combat energy poverty.

Possibility for funded companies to raise directly on UpsideTown

Investors in the EnergyTown Fund will be able to be key players in both the start-up of CERs and the financing and management of the plants (with a focus on photovoltaics, mini-hydro, and biomass), through the establishment of special purpose vehicles (SPVs).

The SPVs, which own the plants, will in turn be able to finance their projects by raising equity from an expanded audience of investors, including retail investors through the UpsideTown platform.

The Fund’s structure makes it possible to intercept a double tax advantage for investors, arising both from qualifying as “Pir compliant” (tax exemptions on capital gains and inheritance tax), and from being able to benefit from the deduction/deduction of 30 percent of the invested capital provided by the so-called “Relaunch Decree” for investments in the share capital of innovative SMEs and start-ups.

The Fund provides a target gross return of 9.6 percent per year for the planned duration of 6 years (extendable up to 10).

“EnergyTown, which is a first-of-its-kind operation in Europe, was created to create widespread energy communities, even small ones, in which consumers can benefit from a positive economic differential for simply consuming ‘clean’ energy, with the additional possibility of directly investing their capital in this virtuous circle through crowdfunding,” commented Marco Pecchinotti, Managing Director of P&G Sgr

“We are presenting ourselves to the market with a project that represents our view, aimed at combining innovation, sustainability, and alternative finance: starting with the largest placement ever made on a portal is undoubtedly an ambitious goal, but we are confident that investors will seize the interesting opportunity,” added Luigi Ucci, CEO & Founder of UpsideTown.

Who is P&G SGR

P&G SGR is among the top market players in the ABS sector, having contributed to the emergence of the European ABS CDO market and boasting one of the largest track records in Europe in alternative investments.

The management company has a comprehensive range of investment products: in addition to ABS CDOs, two dedicated securitization funds, including the flagship P&G Structured Credit Opportunities, an ABS management mandate, five real estate funds, three credit funds, and a private equity fund.

Overall, it manages more than 500 million euros and targets institutional investors by offering investment solutions decoupled from financial markets.

P&G Sgr ended 2021 with revenues of €5.9 million and EBITDA of more than €1.6 million.

Who is UpsideTown

UpsideTown is an independent fintech company with a focus on crowd-investing initiatives in the real estate and green energy sectors.

Born from the initiative of a team of professionals with long-standing expertise, the Company is participated by PRAXI SpA.

It proposes an innovative business model, in which the digital process – based on big data analysis and artificial intelligence – is placed side by side with human touch to ensure the accuracy of analysis and selection of individual opportunities.

In a logic of portfolio diversification, investment targets range across various profiles and asset classes, with a constant focus on sustainability and social responsibility issues: from residential to the hotel sector, from student housing to senior housing, from retail to logistics, with a special focus on the green energy segment.

UpsideTown recently launched operations in the real estate segment, with the first equity crowdfunding campaign dedicated to Rome, currently being placed on the portal.

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(Featured image by EdWhiteImages via Pixabay)

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