Curate Ventures, the investment platform founded by former Crown Estate director Alexander Kim and ex-Chelsfield senior leaders Rebeca Guzman Vidal and Darius Divwalla, has announced the first platform opportunity it plans to scale.
The business, which focusses on providing purposeful solutions to building obsolescence via high growth opportunities in healthcare, retail and hospitality, has partnered with the Spanish hotelier Juan Ceña to scale his group in the UK and Europe.
The joint venture will expand Cena’s successful hospitality brand Bastardo into the UK, repurposing and retrofitting stranded office assets into contemporary CoStay hotels. 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 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.
The announcement of the JV represents an important moment for Curate Ventures, which was formed in March this year and combines its founders’ significant experience across real estate finance, development and asset management.
Half of fund managers say that 30% of their commercial assets are stranded due to their poor ESG credentials, while another 50% said a further 20-40% of their portfolio was a risk of becoming so in the next three years (Deepki, June 2024). The strategy demonstrates Curate Ventures’ commitment to addressing this issue by providing innovative, long-term and socially-minded alternative solutions.
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 at 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.'
Juan Ceña, founder at Bastardo, 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.'