Restructuring: tough negotiations ahead for the rescue plan. Uncertainty over the future of Santa Giulia

The road ahead is steep and uphill; Risanamento is taking its time over the ‘urgent measures’ – as defined by the board of directors on 14 October – to be adopted to cover losses and put the balance sheet back in order. Yesterday, at the end of a lengthy board meeting, the company postponed any decision, pending the conclusion of negotiations with all the shareholdersof theMSG Heartbeat fund (Intesa Sanpaolo, Lendlease, Banco BPM and Prelios). The company believes “it is reasonable to expect that the discussions may be concluded in the coming weeks, or by December at the latest”. In the meantime, all events on the financial calendar have been cancelled, including the approval of the financial statements scheduled for 10 November.

No decision has been taken on state of crisis. The latest financial statements, which have been approved and filed, date from September 2025 and relate to the first nine months. The financial statements showed a loss of 5.9 million euros and a negative consolidated equity of 0.8 million, whilst the net financial position – which benefited from the sale of the property in Via Grosio – stood at 27.9 million. The group is also burdened by the losses from 2020, which amount to almost 33 million (written off in accordance with Covid regulations).

Risanamento’s situation is closely linked to Santa Giulia, the large-scale urban regeneration project south of Milan. The company itself initiated the project, only to subsequently sell the land in 2023 to Lendlease’s MSG Heartbeat fund, whilst retaining responsibility for the remediation work. In June, the Australian group, keen to reduce its overseas exposure, signed an agreement to sell its shares to a vehicle led by Bizzi & Partners, in a deal worth around 154 million euros. Now, however, Davide Bizzi’s company appears to have decided to withdraw – although there has not yet been an official announcement – as some of the conditions demanded by the group do not appear to have been met. Without Bizzi – or a replacement – completing the sale of the fund would effectively become impossible. Only the completion of this transaction, in fact, could trigger the ‘step-in’ mechanism, whereby the fund would have taken over the remediation works and other projects still the responsibility of Risanamento, thereby easing the burden on its balance sheet.

The company’s future remains closely linked to how the Milan project unfolds. According to *Il Sole 24 Ore*, the Australian firm Lendlease appears, for the time being, to be set on settling the debt of 120 million owed to Intesa Sanpaolo. As for the possibility of taking over the fund, market rumours suggest that several operators, both Italian and foreign, are interested in the deal. Some of the Italian operators, however, would only enter the deal with the backing of solid foreign partners.

After all, the Santa Giulia project is one of the largest in Milan: over 350,000 square metres comprising residential, hospitality, office and retail space, and more than 200,000 square metres of green space. For this reason, rather than the arrival of a single developer, there is increasing talk of a possible “break-up”, that is, the sale of the sites to multiple buyers.