Italian property company Pirelli Real Estate announced today its plans for the launch of its first property fund to invest in property across Europe.

It will be an opportunity fund targeting office and retail investments in countries where Pirelli already invests. It will aim to invest €1bn (£794m).

Pirelli said today, the European expansion is part of the company’s plans to grow its assets under management from €13bn (£10.3bn) to about €17bn (£13.5bn) by the end of the year.

The company has appointed Olivier De Poulpiquet to lead all of its fund raising and investment activities. De Poulpiquet has been at Pirelli since 2004.

Pirelli did not reveal level of returns for its investors, but opportunity funds typically target returns of 15%-20%.

The Italian listed property company first mentioned its plans for the fund when it released its annual results two weeks ago.

Pirelli has a market capitalisation of €800m

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