- PickAlbatros operates a portfolio of 4-star and 5-star lodges, situated in key vacationer locations in Egypt.
- Vantage Capital’s exit highlights the resilience and development of Egypt’s hospitality sector amid difficult world situations.
- Egypt’s hospitality sector is a key pillar of the nation’s economic system, attracting 15 million worldwide vacationers yearly.
Vantage Capital, Africa’s mezzanine debt fund supervisor, has introduced the profitable full exit of its funding in PickAlbatros Accommodations, a number one lodge proprietor and operator based mostly in Egypt.
PickAlbatros operates a portfolio of 4-star and 5-star lodges, situated in key vacationer locations alongside Egypt’s Crimson Coastline, together with Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Sahl Hasheesh, and Marsa Allam.
These resorts are well-liked for his or her luxurious beachfront entry, health golf equipment, water parks, and swimming swimming pools, making them main sights for worldwide vacationers, notably from Europe.
The funding exit marks a milestone for each Vantage Capital and the PickAlbatros group, highlighting the resilience and development of Egypt’s hospitality sector amid difficult world situations.
The pandemic problem and Vantage Capital’s entry
In December 2020, within the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic financial fallout, Vantage Capital invested $18.4 million into PickAlbatros Accommodations. This funding got here at a time when Egypt’s hospitality business was below extreme pressure, with world tourism at an all-time low because of widespread journey restrictions.
The pandemic had led to a pointy discount in vacationer numbers, inflicting immense monetary strain on the nation’s lodges and resorts, together with PickAlbatros.
Vantage Capital’s entry offered essential funding that enabled the lodge group to cowl important working capital necessities and perform renovation work on newly acquired lodges. This help allowed PickAlbatros to keep up clean operations regardless of the worldwide downturn in tourism.
A mannequin of mezzanine debt’s worth proposition
South Africa based mostly Vantage Capital’s funding in PickAlbatros illustrates how mezzanine debt can present versatile and strategic monetary help throughout difficult instances. David Kornik, Associate at Vantage Capital, underscored the fund supervisor’s strategy to the funding, noting that they anticipated a restoration within the hospitality business as soon as the pandemic was below management.
“Our funding in PickAlbatros Accommodations is a mannequin story for the worth proposition of mezzanine debt,” Kornik said. “We took a practical business view that the hospitality sector would get better post-COVID and had been keen to help a robust underlying enterprise at a time when banks had been too risk-averse.”
This strategy paid off, as PickAlbatros Accommodations not solely survived the pandemic however thrived because the tourism business rebounded. The group was in a position to repay Vantage Capital in an orderly method, highlighting the success of the partnership between the fund supervisor and the lodge group.
Supporting Egypt’s tourism development
Egypt’s hospitality sector is a key pillar the nation’s economic system, attracting 15 million worldwide vacationers yearly and serving as an important supply of exhausting forex. PickAlbatros Accommodations has performed a giant position in supporting the expansion of tourism in Egypt, notably within the Crimson Sea area.
The group’s founder, Mr. Kamel Abu Ali, has been instrumental in placing resort cities akin to Hurghada on the map as well-liked locations for European vacationers.
Omar Gharbawi, Affiliate Associate at Vantage Capital, highlighted the optimistic affect of the funding on Egypt’s tourism sector. “PickAlbatros has performed an necessary position in contributing to tourism development within the area, and we’re proud to have partnered with one of many greatest lodge gamers within the Crimson Sea,” Gharbawi famous.
The growth of PickAlbatros’s room capability from 10,000 to 14,000 keys over the previous three years is a testomony to the group’s development and success, even throughout a interval of worldwide financial uncertainty. This growth not solely elevated the group’s means to serve extra vacationers but in addition contributed to the broader restoration of Egypt’s tourism business.
Learn additionally: Nairobi picked host metropolis for Africa Youth Tourism Summit 2025-2027
A profitable exit for Vantage Capital
Vantage Capital’s full exit from PickAlbatros Accommodations represents a profitable conclusion to its involvement within the lodge group. The funding, which started at a time of disaster, turned out to be a win-win for each events.
Vantage Capital’s mezzanine debt allowed PickAlbatros to climate the pandemic storm, whereas the lodge group’s robust efficiency through the post-pandemic restoration enabled a clean and worthwhile exit for the fund supervisor.
The partnership between Vantage Capital and PickAlbatros Accommodations underscores the significance of versatile and progressive financing options in instances of financial uncertainty particularly in Africa.
By offering strategic help when conventional financing choices had been unavailable, Vantage Capital performed a key position in sustaining and rising one in all Egypt’s main hospitality teams.
