The operation is supported by a pool of six financial institutions: Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, UniCredit, BNL BNP Paribas, Banca Mps, Mediocredito Centrale and Banco di Desio
Objective of the new financing: the industrial and employment relaunch of the brand based in Campania. By 2030, 200 new stores are planned to open across Italy, the Balkans, the Middle East, South America and North Africa, creating over 1,000 new jobs.
A new phase of industrial, employment and international growth begins for Piazza Italia, one of the leading players in Italian retail, with a strategic operation in the fashion sector: the family buy-out of Alma S.p.A., with which Luigi Bernardo acquired full control of the holding company LB Holding S.p.A.
Structured jointly by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, UniCredit, BNL BNP Paribas, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Mediocredito Centrale and Banco di Desio, the transaction provides for two distinct credit lines: a term loan granted to LB Holding S.p.A. for the acquisition of the equal share held by Antonio Bernardo, and a back-up facility1 for Piazza Italia, both aimed at supporting the company’s new phase of operational and commercial growth.
Piazza Italia’s new 2025-2030 Business Plan envisages around 200 new openings – half directly operated and half franchised – across Italy, the Balkans, Greece, the Middle East, South America and North Africa, having a direct impact on employment, with more than 1,000 new hires expected over five years between headquarters and the retail network.
The headquarters in Nola, Naples, will become a strategic hub for digital and retail operations, supply chain and international development, confirming the South’s contribution to the Group’s growth and to the entire Italian fashion industry.
Piazza Italia has also developed an integrated ESG plan combining growth, responsibility and a short supply chain: increased production in Italy and the Euro-Mediterranean area, reduced dependence on the Far East, use of lower-impact materials, more efficient and circular distribution processes, and training programmes for young talent.
The family buy-out of Piazza Italia is one of the most significant Italian transactions of the year in the retail sector. It demonstrates the banking system’s confidence in the strength of Italian entrepreneurship and confirms the ability of Italy’s South to generate integrated industrial models connecting manufacturing, distribution and finance.
1A back-up facility is a secondary line of credit that a company arranges with a bank or group of lenders to ensure liquidity when needed.