New Winter/Landschreiber vehicle to target ‘innovative resi’ deals

Just when it looked as if ex-Corestate founder Ralph Winter and his old colleague from their Cerberus days Thomas Landschreiber were turning their attentions – or indeed their substantial fortunes -  to faraway climes, the two have joined up again with a new investment boutique to arrange club deal real estate projects in the German-speaking markets of Europe.

The new business, 777 Capital Partners, will be based in Baar-Zug in Switzerland. It says it will offer its investment partners access to off-market deals in the innovative residential and commercial real estate segments, with the investment focus on real estate with value enhancement potential in economically strong locations.

Winter and Landschreiber have worked together for years, first at Cerberus and then in building up Corestate Capital, bringing it to a stock market flotation some years ago. Corestate was an early pioneer in the segment of student housing with their subsidiary YOUNIQ, and both Corestate and Winter’s family office investment vehicle W5 have continued to make big investments in the micro-apartment and co-living residential markets in Europe.

The new company sees new opportunities arising as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, with new deals requiring active management, short decision-making processes and fast action. Thomas Landschreiber said: "The corona crisis will put many market participants under severe pressure in the next one to two years. In addition, under the new macroeconomic situation and the Basel III/IV reforms, banks will be much stricter in granting new financing. We expect a great deal of restructuring on the equity and debt side… We already experienced this in 2009 and it is only a matter of time before the new circumstances lead to a number of interesting investment opportunities."

Ralph Winter said, “We are able to take risks with our own capital - something like this has become very rare today. Our extensive network of investors and sellers know that we can execute challenging transactions. I am very pleased that with such a strong team we are able to focus on the essential, namely on commercially sustainable and successful investments for our investment partners. 

“The operational influence in the residential real estate market is currently growing exponentially, a development that is already more noticeable in the USA. Innovative Living assets with community approaches will be highly successful in the coming decades. This opens up a broad spectrum of investment opportunities, ranging from debt capital to equity and PropTech private equity.”

The new company has already attracted some heavyweight players to join the team. These include Micha Blattmann, previously chairman of Corestate Capital’s supervisory board and in his own right a co-founder of Vicenda Asset Management, an investment boutique with focus on alternative financing and private debt. Also joining is Michael Qamar, ex-Switzerland boss of Corestate, along with Dr. Steffen Meinshausen and Markus Dickopf, both also of Corestate.