"Our unified vision brings growth potential" says Icona's Founder and CEO Max-Herve George
Alternative investment structure Icona Capital and leading real-estate investment company Stoneweg announced a ground-breaking strategic partnership that results in shared assets Euro 8 billion.
At the end of this year, Icona's Founder and CEO Max-Herve George announced their acquisition of a 40% stake in the capital of Stoneweg. The group's characteristically shrewd play in the global real estate game unquestionably bolsters their presence and kindles several pipe-dream projects such as the ESG-focused multi-billion pipeline, powered by prime real asset investments in critically dislocated markets.
This landmark alliance also fuels Stoneweg's trajectory as it establishes itself as a leading
global real-estate player with a focus on sustainability. The Icona collaboration comes in the wake of Stoneweg's re-strengthened management and board of directors. It consolidates the group's 2022 re-commitment to continually creating innovative investment opportunities and solutions.
Both companies have publicly commented on their shared future. Max-Herve George recently remarked on the "growth potential" of combining individual resources in a "unified vision". The transaction creates a shared Euro 8 billion platform that leverages both partners' capital sourcing, deal flow origination, and asset distribution capabilities. And Stoneweg's founder and CEO, Jaume Sabater, has similarly expressed appreciation for "Icona's... tremendous show of support [in] quality of our advisory and investment work, as well as our industry-leading sustainability credentials. He adds that he "look[s] forward to continuing to work together to deliver [to] clients in the years ahead."
Despite this trail-blazing formal entente in the global investment stage, a shared Icona-Stoneweg project is not entirely unprecedented. In 2020, Stoneweg and Icona Capital worked closely together on identifying and developing a former Coca-Cola bottling plant in the Nino del Remedio industrial zone. The 211,000 metre-square industrial space was sold to Thor equities with the intention of creating a state-of-the-art data center. This short-term collaboration alone resulted in a colossal investment of Euro 600 million. Recalling this enterprise, Max-Herve George remarked that "it was only natural to cement this partnership and bring together our skills and expertise to provide further momentum to our businesses."
Icona and Stoneweg also have eerily similar stories of a cataclysmic rise to influence, both stoked by a similar dedication to successful out-of-the-box handling. Icona's seeds were first sown in 2012 when Max-Herve George built a luxury resort and on the only remaining bidabble land in the Bernese Alps under the banner of the brand-new Ultima group. This pioneering enterprise changed the face of the hotelier business and earned Max-Herve George his coveted spot in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, an inventory that recognizes the 30 most influential entrepreneurs under the age of 30 in France. That same year, George decided to use his rapidly growing presence to set-up the London-based Icona Capital for the management of additional projects in diverse asset classes. Today, Icona alone manages over Euro 3 billion in assets, most of which are controlled by a team led by Max-Herve George.
Stoneweg, too, launched itself in the 2010s. In 2015, Stoneweg had established a mission of identifying unique real estate opportunities and structuring investment products in Switzerland, Spain, Andorra, Italy, England, Ireland, and America. Its approach is exceptionally creative and has resulted in a since-inception growth period. The company now manages Euro 5 billion in assets, all controlled by over 140 professionals.
Both Icona's Founder and CEO Max-Herve George and Stoneweg's Founder and CEO Jaume Sabater have hinted at big collaborative projects in the coming year.
