Bridges Ventures Secures Sale of The Hoxton Hotel
London, 29 May 2012: Bridges Ventures, the sustainable growth investor, today announced that it has sold one of its landmark investments, The Hoxton Hotel (‘The Hoxton’), to Ennismore Capital. Bridges Ventures backed The Hoxton in 2004 as a start-up concept and played a lead role in financing its construction and ongoing success. The exit will […]
London, 29 May 2012: Bridges Ventures, the sustainable growth investor, today announced that it has sold one of its landmark investments, The Hoxton Hotel (‘The Hoxton’), to Ennismore Capital. Bridges Ventures backed The Hoxton in 2004 as a start-up concept and played a lead role in financing its construction and ongoing success.
The exit will deliver a return of £13.3m to Bridges Ventures’ Sustainable Growth Fund I, representing an IRR of 47% and 8.8x the total investment, and £1.9m to Sustainable Growth Fund II, representing an IRR of 35% and 3.4x the total investment.
The Hoxton was named in GQ’s ‘100 Best Things in The World’ in December 2006, and in March 2007, was included in Conde Nast Traveller?s Hot List of the 100 coolest hotels on the planet. It has also won Best UK Hotel Award at the Guardian and Observer Travel Awards in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Since its initial opening, The Hoxton has consistently achieved 90% or greater occupancy rates for its 208 rooms.
The initial investment in The Hoxton was made through Bridges Ventures’ Sustainable Growth Funds, which aim to deliver both positive financial returns and social and environmental benefits, and the investment fulfils one of Bridges Ventures key impact themes – investing in underserved areas. The foundation of The Hoxton played a critical part in the regeneration of Shoreditch and Hackney, which is in the bottom 3% of deprived wards in England and over 70% of The Hoxton Hotel staff live in underserved areas.
Anne-Marie Harris, Partner, Sustainable Growth Funds, at Bridges Ventures commented: “The example of The Hoxton Hotel demonstrates how visionary concepts and decisive financing can transform industries and areas alike. We have played a clear role in promoting the regeneration of Hoxton and Shoreditch, as well as providing tourists, businessmen and other visitors with low-cost, high-quality hotel space in the heart of London. We have also succeeded in delivering an excellent return to our investors, proving once again how financial return and social benefit go hand in hand.” Knight Frank LLP and Taylor Wessing LLP acted for The Hoxton.
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For further information please contact: Hannah Randall, Capital MSL
0207 255 5177
Notes to editors About Bridges Ventures Bridges Ventures LLP (“Bridges Ventures”) is a sustainable growth investor established in 2002 with a mission to use its commercial expertise to achieve focused social or environmental benefit, as well as attractive returns for investors. Bridges Ventures has raised six funds to date which total almost £275m: Sustainable Growth Funds I, II and III, the Bridges Sustainable Property Fund, CarePlaces Partnership and the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund.
The Bridges Sustainable Growth Funds invest in growth businesses across the four impact themes of Underserved Areas, Education & Skills, Environment and Health & Well-being. The Funds typically invest up to £10m at a time in ambitious, entrepreneurial businesses including early stage, growth capital and buyouts / buy ins. Since 2002, the Bridges Sustainable Funds have made equity investments totaling over £75m in over 35 businesses.
For more information please go to www.bridgesventures.com
About Ennismore Capital Ennismore Capital is a boutique investment firm based in London focused on building businesses in fashion, hospitality and real estate. The firm has a long-term investment horizon with a European and North American focus.
For more information please go to www.ennismorecapital.com