Private equity firm ActivumSG Capital Management has announced it is targeting European markets that are experiencing growing distress, with a focus on hospitality. The company has raised €550 million from international investors to deploy mainly in five markets: Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the UK.
“We’re bringing much-needed liquidity to distressed situations and sectors”, said Saul Goldstein, CEO and Founder of ActivumSG. “Hospitality was one of the first to fall into distress, which is why it’s a major investment theme for our Fund. Standing assets are starting to offer value now after several years of prohibitive pricing. We’ve been steadily closing transactions for Fund VI and have sourced a strong pipeline of deals thanks to the experienced local investment teams we have on the ground. Having local networks is proving to be even more important now than before, given the travel restrictions in place.”
Earlier this month, ActivumSG acquired the recently renovated Nobu Hotel in central Barcelona from Spain’s Selenta Group. Brian Betel, ActivumSG’s Head of Direct Transactions in Europe, said at the time: “This off-market deal is a feather in the cap for our team in 2020 and the result of our strong local network. Barcelona presents a compelling opportunity with strong long-term fundamentals for hotel investment as the world begins its long recovery from Covid-19. This investment will give our investors excellent exposure to a city which we expect will return to being one of Europe’s most visited destinations for tourists and a magnet for international business conferences and trade fairs.”
ActivumSG also acquired of Dutch hotel operator Odyssey Hotel Group this month. Odyssey operates 12 hotels in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland mostly under franchise agreements with Marriott Group and IHG, with a view to expand into underserved mid-sized towns and cities in continental Europe. Odyssey CEO Rick van Erp, said of the transaction: “The Activum fund’s support will allow us to scale up our platform and penetrate new markets in Europe, broadening the footprint of our major hotel brand partners. We are looking ahead with confidence at a post-Covid landscape for the hospitality sector, which will present opportunities for those operators with the liquidity, agility and industry expertise to benefit most from the recovery.”
ActivumSG joins a number of investors who have declared their interest in distress, although Questex’s recently published fourth quarterly Investment Sentiment Assessment, in partnership with ABP Invest, shows that investors find that opportunity in the European hotel sector has been slow to come through.