Manutencoop aims to debut on the Stock Exchange by 2013

   From sixteen porters to a corporate group that employs 16 people, with a turnover exceeding one billion euros and two objectives: to buy a company in Germany to conquer the German market and get on the stock market by 2013. This is the parabola of Manutencoop, the cooperative giant from Bologna, Italian leader in all the activities that serve the property, from green maintenance to safety, from cleaning to the energy plan, from technical services to waste disposal.
   In 2003, Manutencoop created the operating company Manutencoop Facility Management spa (of which it retained control with 72%), an operation which was to serve to land on Piazza Affari as early as 2008. However, the project stalled in the crisis of international financial markets. A path postponed, but not canceled and the president Claudio Levorato announces: "We would like to be able to conclude the listing by 2013". Meanwhile, there are other steps to take, especially beyond national borders. Germany is the new horizon of the cooperative. “A country – says Levorato – with an important rate of development, still able to grow and offer opportunities to a company like ours”.
   In order to immediately conquer a large slice of the German market, the company intends to buy a primary operator in the sector and, to this end, it launched a capital increase of 70 million euros in mid-April. It has been written, in recent weeks, that the company in the crosshairs is Gegenbauer, a group well established throughout the country and with a turnover of 390 million euros, a hypothesis certainly being examined by the Bolognese. “We have about ten dossiers open on the table – replies Levorato cautiously -: we are only at the beginning of a process that should lead us to make a purchase in Germany by the end of the year, but it is still early to name just one”. Manutencoop aims to stick its nose out of the house, also because in Italy the slow growth of the economy affects company volumes. In 2010 business underwent a slight decline, revenues fell from 1,150 billion to 1,139 billion and a modest contraction was also recorded in the first quarter of 2011 (261,2 million euros as at 31 March, against 274,9 million in the same period of the previous year). Nothing to worry about, given the excellent performance of net income, already at 7,3 million euro as at 31 March 2011 against 4,7 million in the first quarter of 2010 and which should also lead to the distribution of a dividend at the end of the year (from three years there was), but still an alarm bell.
   “That of abroad – says Levorato – is a priority. The trend should be to balance, over time, the turnover we achieve in Italy with what we will do outside”. The decision to look to the German neighbors and to Europe in general “is dictated by the fact that ours is a sector that develops in mature markets, where building management activities are outsourced. We work with public or private clients for large sizes, supermarkets for example or hospitals for which we generally take care of the sterilization and washing service. 55% of our turnover comes from the public sector, 45% from the private sector”. Alongside international projects, Manutencoop is also overseeing the growth of sectors adjacent to its main business, such as lifts, an activity that is also provided to a "retail" clientele, for example to individual condominiums. “Today we manage about 12 lifts – says Levorato – and we are present in many regions, but we still want to expand our network. With an investment plan of around 15 million, we expect to manage 25 lifts within a few years". Finally, Manutencoop is one of the shareholders of Unipol and Levorato, who sits on the board of directors of the insurance company, was one of the main opponents of former president Gianni Consorte at the time of the takeover of Bnl. How do you judge today the sentence imposed by the Court of Milan, for Antonveneta, also against Unipol and the confiscation of 39,5 million euros? “Amazing – he replies – I don't understand how a company can be condemned if its directors have behaved badly. Unipol should be considered a victim, not a perpetrator".