Curate Ventures, founded by Rebeca Guzman Vidal and Darius Divwalla, formerly of Chelsfield, and Alex Kim, formerly of the Crown Estate, has partnered with Spanish hotelier Juan Ceña to scale his hospitality brand Bastardo across the UK and Europe.
The joint venture will expand Ceña’s Bastardo chain into the UK by repurposing and retrofitting stranded office assets into contemporary co-stay hotels.
The partners said the venture’s model “will deliver strong returns for its investors by offering a product that meets the needs of millennials and gen-z, who represent the largest cohort of international travellers”.
Ceña’s Bastardo offers an affordable, trustworthy and design-led alternative to budget hotels, hostels and self-catered accommodation. Its original hotel in Madrid has a capacity of 250 beds across boutique private suites, family rooms and shared dorms with private bunks. The hotel incorporates elements of select-service hotels and lifestyle hostels with all day dining and cultural event spaces.
The model will be replicated in the UK, beginning in London followed by other regional cities, and working with social enterprises to drive local skills and employment growth.
Curate Ventures focuses on providing “purposeful solutions to building obsolescence” via high growth opportunities in healthcare, retail and hospitality. The team is targeting investment partners across Europe, with advanced investor conversations already underway. Beyond London, the team has plans for key cities and further expansion in Western and Central Europe.
Rebeca Guzman Vidal and Alexander Kim, co-founders of Curate Ventures, said: “Our primary reason for founding Curate Ventures was that we each recognised the scale of the problem real estate faces when it comes to commercial assets: alternative uses for office buildings is a challenge all cities face, including London.
“Our team is deeply committed to finding solutions that work and, crucially, that investors and communities alike actually want. There is no better embodiment of our mission and values than this partnership with Juan Ceña’s hospitality group, so it is only right that Bastardo is the first operational strategy we deploy in the market.
“Affordable travel has proven highly resilient, and the opportunity to scale a successful brand in the UK and meet the unmet needs of a large global market is hugely compelling for investors. We are hugely excited to launch Bastardo and support environmentally and socially sustainable tourism and real estate investment.”
Bastardo founder Juan Ceña said: “Millennial and gen-zs are the most represented group in international travel, contributing hugely to the global economy, and yet there are very few hospitality brands that meet their needs. These travellers are looking for somewhere that has the inbuilt trust of a hotel stay at the accessible price point of self-catered accommodation.
“Over the past five years our Madrid location has demonstrated that this is not only possible, but can be successful at scale and meeting international demand. London is the natural destination to expand Bastardo outside Spain. Like Madrid, the city has a variety of exciting and individual neighbourhoods and communities that we want our guests to discover and experience.”
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