'The Italian market is very important to us and we intend to invest at least €200-300 mln of our funds there,' said Keith Breslauer, managing director of Patron Capital.

'We have invested in Italy for the past 18 years and, given recent regulatory actions within the banking system, we see significant future opportunities. Matteo brings with him new relationships and new ideas that will position us well to take advantage of Italy’s ongoing recovery.'

Busà joins from GIC, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, where he was a vice president. He spent 10 years with GIC in total, including eight in London, where he originated and managed investment opportunities across multiple countries and asset classes, working on both the debt and equity sides of the capital structure.

Prior to GIC, he spent four years working in real estate investment, at Pirelli Real Estate and then JER Partners.

Busà will be based in London.

'Patron has an exceptional reputation in terms of its approach, the quality of its investments, the returns it delivers and its company culture. Successful opportunistic investing requires creativity and a range of on-the-ground contacts and I’m looking forward to working with the team to take advantage of the opportunities the Italian market brings, while also supporting the company’s activity in other markets across Europe,' Busà concluded.