Via its division Castello SGR, publicly listed asset-management firm ANIMA Group has acquired Poltu Quatu, a mixed-use property on the Italian island of Sardinia, for €70 million ($76 million) from family office Pulcini Group.
The asset includes a 139-room hotel and 100 residences. The new owner said it plans to increase its hotel ownership, “to significantly grow its portfolio, which today amounts to around €1 billion ($1.08 billion) and consists of 32 facilities and over 4,000 rooms,” according to a news release.
Castello intends to partner with Marriott International to manage Poltu Quatu within its W Hotels brand.
ANIMA and Castello are planning to redevelop the hotel component of the complex, the release added. A trio of Italian banks — Banco BPM, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit — provided funding for the acquisition and redevelopment.
“The operation, through a major redevelopment of the entire infrastructure, will lead to the creation of a new accommodation offer, integrated with the marina, a port facing the Maddalena archipelago, with over 240 accommodation units, 150 of which [will be] in the new W hotel, and the rest in service apartment[s],” the release said.
Poltu Quatu is located in the northern region of the island in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia’s foremost luxury hotel market.
The destination was developed in the 1960s thanks to financing from a consortium of firms led by the current Aga Khan, Shah Karim al-Husayni.
Giampiero Schiavo, Castello’s CEO, said that “with this project, [Castello is] working in synergy with the repositioning of several structures in the super-luxury segment, thus contributing to reinforce … Costa Smeralda as a top destination in the world. Today, proud to be part of the first independent asset-management group in Italy, we want to be Italy’s leading player in the alternatives sector, consolidating our leadership in the segments of excellence where we are present in both real estate and private.”
Castello's hotel portfolio includes 32 hotels and resorts, such as Le Massif, a ski resort in Courmayeur, Aosta province; Grotta Giusti Natural Spa Resort, in Tuscany; InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace; and Tribute Duo Milan Porta Nuova.
Across all asset classes, ANIMA manages approximately €192 billion of real estate. It bought 80% of Castello in 2023.