Investment platform Curate Ventures has partnered with Spanish hotelier Juan Ceña to grow the Bastardo hotel brand in the UK and Europe.
Curate Ventures, which was founded by former Crown Estate director Alexander Kim and ex-Chelsfield senior leaders Rebeca Guzman Vidal and Darius Divwalla (pictured), focusses on providing “purposeful solutions to building obsolescence via high growth opportunities in healthcare, retail and hospitality”.
The joint venture with Ceña will seek stranded office assets that can be repurposed and retrofitted into contemporary CoStay hotels.
Ceña’s original Bastardo hotel in Madrid has a capacity of 250 beds across boutique private suites, family rooms and shared dorms with private bunks. The model will be replicated in the UK, beginning in London followed by other regional cities.
The Curate team is targeting investment partners across Europe, with advanced conversations with investors already underway. Beyond London, the team has plans for key cities and further expansion in Western and Central Europe.
Guzman Vidal and Kim 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.
“Affordable travel has proven highly resilient, and the opportunity to scale a successful brand in the UK and meet the unmet needs of a large global market is hugely compelling for investors. We are hugely excited to launch Bastardo and support environmentally and socially sustainable tourism and real estate investment.”
Ceña added: “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.”
