NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2019 — The historic Raleigh Hotel property in Miami was purchased today by a joint venture between Deutsche Finance America, Bilgili Holding and SHVO. The partnership purchased the property for $103 million from Tommy Hilfiger and Turkish conglomerate Dogus Group, which had owned the Raleigh since 2014. The 83-room hotel is an icon of South Beach art deco, known especially for its ornate beachside swimming pool, which LIFE Magazine called "the most beautiful pool in America" in 1947.
The new joint venture purchased the property in an all cash transaction in partnership with a number of Germany's largest institutions including Bayerische Versorgungskammer ("BVK"), Germany's largest manager of public pension schemes.
The acquisition of the Raleigh Hotel marks the second joint investment between New York City based development firm SHVO, Turkish investment group Bilgili Holding and investment management firm Deutsche Finance after acquiring 685 5th Avenue six months ago.
"We are thrilled about the next chapter of the Raleigh's history – as a nostalgic icon and a symbol of twenty-first century style and luxury," said Michael Shvo, Chairman and Founder of SHVO. "Over the past 4 years, Tommy Hilfiger and the Raleigh Group have put incredible effort into restoring this iconic Art Deco gem and we are grateful that they are entrusting us as stewards of the Raleigh's future. We are committed to bringing about its next renaissance."
Jason Lucas, Managing Partner of Deutsche Finance America, commented, "The Raleigh Hotel is an embodiment of Miami's timeless South Beach and we believe this investment offers our LPs outsized risk-adjusted returns in a liquid, gateway market."
"We are very excited to further solidify our partnership with Deutsche Finance and SHVO on our second deal in the U.S. We are still looking forward to diversifying and growing our portfolio further in other global hubs, especially in Los Angeles and New York City," said Serdar Bilgili, Chairman of Bilgili Holding.
