A group of companies with a solid business and high growth potential has been selected by UBI Banca, in collaboration with Confindustria, to join ELITE, the Borsa Italiana program dedicated to strengthening companies' growth strategies. The chosen companies will access, through the "ELITE UBI Banca Lounge", a path that offers companies a series of tools designed to address the key issues of international growth and expansion.
21 companies have been selected, representing 8 regions, have an aggregate turnover of around 3 billion euros, a total of around 11 employees and belong to various industrial sectors: from fashion to chemistry, mechanics, automotive and food. Companies will have the opportunity to embark on a dedicated path that includes financing instruments, relationships with capital market operators, thanks also to discussions with an audience of potential Italian and foreign investors, specific training to guide the necessary organizational and governance changes to face international markets.
The search for companies included in the "ELITE UBI Banca Lounge" took place throughout the country through close collaboration between the seven Macro Territorial Areas, the Corporate and Investment Banking division of UBI Banca and the local Confindustria Associations.
The initiative is the natural evolution of the agreement signed by UBI Banca and Confindustria last September to support companies engaged in innovation and digital transformation processes and promote their growth in size as well as access to capital markets. An agreement, which will last until December 2019, with which a ceiling for research, development and innovation of 1 billion euros was established, aimed at granting medium and long-term loans. On the basis of the same agreement, companies have access to experts dedicated to transformation processes, consultancy for accessing European funds and the concessions provided for by the National Industry 4.0 Plan through the Digital Innovation Hubs.
“The objective of the renewal and competitiveness of the productive world – affirms Letizia Moratti, Chairman of the Management Board of UBI Banca – has pushed three protagonists of the country's economy, represented by the business world, the capital market and the banking system, to create a system to support the innovation and digitization processes of companies. This initiative primarily represents a manifestation of trust in our companies and, at the same time, a concrete example of how they can be supported to pursue the trend of economic growth after years of crisis".
“The launch of the ELITE UBI Banca Lounge, activated with the collaboration of Confindustria – according to the president of Confindustria Vincenzo Boccia – represents another important step in the path of evolution and innovation in the relationship between banks and businesses, an essential condition for a more strong and competitive, capable of tackling international challenges. The capitalization of companies and their access to alternative financing instruments to bank credit remain priorities. Our task is to promote and stimulate a cultural and dimensional leap of SMEs so that growth without debt can be achieved".
"We strongly believe that the future of our country is closely linked to the ability to enhance that of its most virtuous companies and ELITE plays a crucial role in achieving this goal", said Luca Peyrano, CEO of ELITE. “This is why we are happy to welcome this group of companies which, thanks to the Lounge, will acquire all the tools to grow even further and evaluate access to capital for growth. ELITE thus shares a dedicated strategy with UBI Banca and Confindustria to support the Italian entrepreneurial fabric in an increasingly synergistic way".
