A new firm, Limestone Capital, has been launched to 'capitalise on opportunities in the European real estate and hospitality sector', according to its founders, who hail from the real estate and technology industries.
The fund has been created by investors Alexander Schütz (CEO, C-Quadrat and member of the board of directors, Deutsche Bank), Christian Angermayer (Apeiron Investments), plus technology and hospitality entrepreneurs Benjamin Habbel and Jeffrey Coe, who are leading the firm.
Limestone Capital is a joint platform between a number of European family offices, including general partner Schütz's family office in Vienna andAngermayer’s Apeiron Investments in London.
Limestone Capital Managing Partner and co-founder Benjamin Habbel, said: 'The unique insight to apply a fully integrated investment strategy, has allowed for projects often overseen by large institutions due to their lack of sector knowledge, whilst at the same time being too capital intense for local entrepreneurs.
'This way we are beginning to build a portfolio of real estate investments that promise to deliver strong risk adjusted returns through a lean asset management approach, conservative leverage and technology-enabled operations.'
The firm is combining two major trends in its investment thesis - one is described as the 'dramatic shift to sustainable, healthy and more intimate travel experiences, away from the big box global hotel brands' - combined with current opportunities to acquire real estate at attractive real estate prices. These trends have been accelerated by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and have fuelled both demand for new products and crushed outdated business models, according to the firm.
Alexander Schütz said: 'With highly attractive entry level prices, due to Covid-19 forcing distressed asset sales, and operating assets generating cashflow quickly delivering liquidity for investors, we are confident that we have launched a firm with a highly attractive and sustainable portfolio of investments.
'Moreover, we believe our investors will benefit from first-class implementation from our team of real estate and technology specialists, working with excellent hand-picked management teams.'
To date, the firm has invested in assets including the Aethos Hotels group and purchased three assets in Portugal, one of which is a city centre hotel conversion in Lisbon, plus a luxury surf hotel on the coast.
Limestone has also acquired and renovated an Italian village hotel, called La Locanda del Prete, in Saragano, Umbria. Its future pipeline features properties in Rome and Mallorca.
