Global real estate investment company, Stoneweg S.A. (‘Stoneweg’), and London based Icona Capital (‘Icona’) are pleased to announce Icona’s acquisition of a 40% minority stake in Stoneweg.

This agreement enhances Stoneweg’s growth trajectory as it establishes itself as a leading global real estate player, with a strong focus on sustainability. In 2022, Stoneweg strengthened its management team as well as its board of directors and with this milestone consolidates the strong foundations built since the group was established in 2015 to offer investors unique opportunities and innovative investment solutions.

The strategic partnership will support Icona’s ambitious ESG-focused multi-billion pipeline comprising prime real asset investments in critically dislocated markets. The transaction creates a combined €8bn platform leveraging both partners’ capital sourcing, deal flow origination and asset distribution capabilities.

Max-Hervé George, founder and CEO of Icona Capital, said: “We see tremendous growth potential utilising the extensive synergies our firms can reap from tapping into our unified vision, entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. Building on Stoneweg and Icona’s previous successes together, it was only natural to cement this partnership and bring together our skills and expertise to provide further momentum to our businesses.”

Stoneweg founder and CEO, Jaume Sabater, commented: “Icona’s investment in our fast-growing business is a tremendous show of support and a testament to the quality of our advisory and investment work, as well as our industry leading sustainability credentials. We have collaborated with Icona for a long time and look forward to continuing to work together to deliver for our clients in the years ahead.”

Stoneweg has been identifying real estate opportunities and structuring investment products in Switzerland, Spain, Andorra, Italy, UK, Ireland and the US since 2015. Due to its innovative approach to real estate investment, the company has enjoyed a strong period of growth since its inception and now employs over 140 professionals managing more than €5bn of real estate assets.

Icona, an independent investment firm headquartered in London, advises several investment vehicles across different asset classes in real estate, credit, private equity, special situations and growth equity. Most of Icona’s €3bn assets are controlled and managed by a team led by Max-Hervé George, founder and CEO of Icona.

Stoneweg (www.stoneweg.com) is a real estate asset manager and investment advisory group established in 2015 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Group relies on local operating teams to identify, develop and manage real estate investments around the world. To date, Stoneweg has invested more than €5 billion in real estate in various sectors including residential, commercial, logistics and hospitality. Stoneweg’s expertise lies in both equity and debt investment strategies. Its clients include financial institutions and family offices that invest in a variety of structures, including club deals, joint ventures and co-investments. With more than 140 employees, Stoneweg is present in Switzerland, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Andorra and Italy. Since 2015, Stoneweg has completed more than 300 acquisitions alongside best-in-class partners.

Icona Capital Group (www.iconacapital.com) is an independent investment firm and financial advisory business established by Max-Hervé George. It is registered and headquartered in London with further offices in Geneva and Luxembourg. It advises a number of its own investment vehicles across different business segments in real estate, credit, private equity, special situations and growth equity.  Icona now has in excess of €3.0bn of gross value assets across 14 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the US. 

Stoneweg SA (‘Stoneweg’), the real estate investment advisor, has completed, on behalf of the Icona Capital Group (‘Icona’), the sale of the former bottling plant of Casbega in Fuenlabrada, a large industrial site in Madrid, to Thor Equities (‘Thor’).

Stoneweg acquired the former bottling plant in the Nino del Remedio Industrial Estate in 2020. The 211,000 sqm of industrial space adjacent to Madrid’s inner ring-road is strategically located in the municipality of Fuenlabrada and benefits from excellent transport links. The sale to Thor, as part of its own stated expansion to build up Thor Digitaland, will result in an investment of €600 million and turn the site into a state-of-the-art data centre.

Stoneweg and Icona have been working together for over 3 years.

Jaume Sabater, CEO of Stoneweg, commented: “Stoneweg has become a highly trusted partner of Icona, having executed the original acquisition of this asset as well as its successful sale, just two examples of our expert team’s ability to deliver strong returns on behalf of our clients. We hope to continue our relationship with Icona and look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Speaking after closing this substantial deal, Max-Hervé George commented: “We worked closely with Stoneweg to locate a site of this quality in Madrid as part of our investment expansion into southern Europe. We have been very pleased that its location and opportunity has been recognised by Thor.”

Stoneweg, headquartered in Geneva, identifies real estate opportunities, structures investment products and manages dedicated mandates in Switzerland, Spain, Andorra, Italy, UK, Ireland and the USA. It has enjoyed a strong period of growth since its inception in 2015 and now employs over 140 professionals.

Icona is an independent investor controlled by Max-Hervé George. It is headquartered in London with further offices in Geneva and Luxembourg. Icona has more than €2.5bn of gross assets under management across different business segments ranging from real estate, credit and private equity to special situations.

Icona was advised by the Swiss banking group, CBH Bank of Geneva.

Stoneweg (www.stoneweg.com) is a real estate asset manager and investment advisory group established in 2015 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Group relies on local operating teams to identify, develop and manage real estate investments around the World. 
To date, Stoneweg has invested more than €5 billion in real estate in various sectors including residential, commercial, logistics and hospitality. Stoneweg’s expertise lies in both equity and debt investment strategies. Its clients include financial institutions and family offices that invest in a variety of structures, including club deals, joint ventures and co-investments.
With more than 140 employees, Stoneweg is present in Switzerland, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Andorra and Italy. Since 2015, Stoneweg has completed more than 300 acquisitions alongside best-in-class partners.

Icona Capital Group (www.iconacapital.com) is an independent investor and financial advisory business (established by Max-Hervé George) registered and headquartered in London W1 with further offices in Geneva and Luxembourg. It advises a growing number of its own special purpose vehicles across different business segments in real estate, credit, private equity and special situations. Icona now has in excess of €2.5bn of gross value assets in Switzerland, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, the UK, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria and the USA.

Icona Capital, an investment group founded by French entrepreneur, Max-Hervé George, has announced the purchase of a substantial 15.7% stake in Globe Trade Center S.A (GTC), a leading European real estate development group. The shares have been purchased at a global transaction value of €140m from GTC Dutch Holding B.V., a vehicle directed by Optima Investments Ltd.

Icona, which now has over €2.5bn of gross assets under management, will take a seat on GTC’s Supervisory Board. Real estate is just one segment of the investment group’s operations, with projects for its global clientele managed in private equity, liquid strategy, credit, special situations, and the financial sector. 

Speaking about the acquisition of GTC’s stake, Max-Hervé George said: “We are looking forward to developing our relationship further with GTC over the coming years and are delighted that in one step Icona has been able to expand its geographical exposure to some of the best commercial sites across central Europe.”

George, who has been described as one of the top prominent young entrepreneurs in Europe, is also co-founder of European luxury hospitality group, Ultima Collection. George sits on the Icona Board alongside Edward Spencer-Churchill, a director of Sun-Capital, and Francois Reyl, CEO of Swiss financial group Reyl Intesa San Paolo.

GTC is listed and headquartered in Warsaw. It has a gross asset value of €2.2bn. In the year to December 2020, it had €160m of revenue from operations and an EBITDA of €112m. Its investments are made up of 732,100m2 of both office and retail space in 43 revenue generating prime commercial buildings. It has a substantial development land bank and three properties currently under construction.

Zoltán Fekete, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of GTC said: “We are pleased to welcome on board an international group of investors that brings a new angle to our investment strategy, through which we intend to explore opportunities in markets outside Central and Eastern Europe.”