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Coima, previously known as Hines Italia, formally took over the sites in February 2015, when it was mandated to manage Real Venice 1, a fund created to finance the redevelopment of Venice’s historic Lido, one of Europe’s most prestigious tourist destinations at the beginning of 1900 with its 12 kilometers of beaches in front of the city.

Real Venice 1 was formerly managed by Est Capital before the company went into administration in 2014.

Coima said at the time it hoped to attract fresh capital to the project and initially worked on the fund's first rights issue, which was fully subscribed by the unitholders including Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova and Rovigo.

A recent marketing campaign for the redevelopment of the 50,000 m2 site attracted some 30 institutional investors, Coima said. As part of the new agreement, L&R will act as principal investor in the fund and will be also responsible for managing the hotels. The investment is conditional upon reaching an agreement with the lenders for the refinancing of the fund.

The project, which was now approved by the fund's unitholders, encompasses two iconic hotels - the historic Excelsior and Des Bains. The site also encompasses a disused asset which formerly housed a hospital known as Ospedale al Mare and which is owned by state-controlled bank CDP through its Fondo Investimenti per le Valorizzazioni fund.

The group estimated that the redevelopment plan for the entire site would require over €200 mln of fresh equity, according to CEO Manfredi Catella.

In 2009 a similar attempt to renovate the site by local asset manager Estcapital collapsed amid financial strains. Estcapital at the time said it would team up with hotel group Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts to redevelop the assets.

London & Regional Properties is a hotel investment specialist with a portfolio of £9 bn and nearly 6,000 rooms.