Strategic View: STROTBEK & Co. is capitalizing on German real estate distress by launching a €100M club deal with Swiss family offices. The strategy: acquire and finance “distressed opportunities”—projects that are approved but lack completion financing. It’s a bold, counter-cyclical play using a nimble club structure.
Full story: While many investors see danger in the German real estate market, STROTBEK & Co. smells opportunity. The finance and advisory firm is launching a €100 million “club deal,” and they’ve already placed the first €50 million. Their partners are not institutions, but a select group of savvy Swiss family offices who understand this very specific thesis.
What is the thesis? “Distressed opportunities.” The club is not buying stable, cash-flowing assets. Instead, it is hunting for projects that are “approved and partially built” but have stalled. The original developer ran out of capital as financing costs rose, leaving a half-finished building on a prime lot. This is where the club deal becomes a scalpel.
STROTBEK’s value proposition is twofold. First, they have deep expertise in the German market south of the Main line. Second, they have the in-house project development skills to not just finance these projects, but to finish them. The club’s capital will pay off the developer’s land loan and directly fund the remaining construction financing.
This is a strategy that only a club deal could execute. It is too risky and hands-on for a large, diversified fund. It requires a small group of high-conviction investors who trust the manager’s operational expertise. This deal is the definition of “alpha”*—finding high returns in the market’s most broken, complex corners.
*Alpha: A measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis; the “edge” an investor has.
Summary: This €100M club deal is a masterclass in counter-cyclical investing. It matters because it shows how sophisticated family offices are teaming up to move “down the capital stack,” acting less like LPs and more like special-situations developers to rescue and profit from the market’s most distressed assets.
Source: STROTBEK & Co.
