Investment Opportunity Leaps Out of the Gate Quickly Raising Over €200,000.
Where could the new World Cup Team Deutschland return home, celebrate and relax by the sea? Schloss Weissenhaus! With plenty of space for a team or a large gathering, the Weissenhouse compound comprises 750,000 square meters, an area of more than 100 soccer fields. GOOOAL!
Weissenhaus Grand Village Resort & Spa is a privately operated five-star luxury resort situated directly on the Baltic Sea, a mere 100 km from Hamburg (accessible via the A1 autobahn or the ICE station). During the last eight years, the co-founder of AOL Europe bought the 75-hectare property by the Baltic Sea and carefully restored the entire village, turning the Earl’s estate into a unique and captivating resort experience. The resort pre-launched in 26 rooms in May 2013 and then fully opened earlier this July to rave press reviews in Der Spiegel, Die Welt and Lufthansa.
Crowdfunders are invited to invest and receive a fixed interest rate in the regal property via the investment-based crowdfunding platform Companisto from its 15 July launch date. The campaign seeks to raise 1,000,000€ (with a 2,000,000€ maximum), with a minimum interest rate of 4% p.a.. All investments will be guaranteed by the private assets of Weissenhaus’ owner, Buettner.
Buettner has angel invested in several young companies including Groupon, Sonos and Kaufda when crowdfinancing was an almost unknown option in Germany. Buettner considers equity-based crowdfunding the next logical step, for by means of this type of financing, everyone may become an angel investor and invest in exciting business concepts.
The 400-year old village consists of over 40 buildings, 30 of which are part of the hotel. The remaining ten buildings remain in use by employees and inhabitants of the former village. The resort’s updates have been made mindful of historical preservation, including a five-star hotel with 60 rooms and suites, five different restaurant areas (The Boathouse is perched directly on the beach), a patisserie, a chocolatier, a luxury spa, childcare facilities in the aptly named chick house, numerous event locations, and a picturesque castle with three kilometers of secluded Baltic Sea beach. Just looking at those white Strandkorbs brings back idyllic memories of my time spent on the Baltic… cannot wait to visit again!
Below includes financial details regarding Companisto’s Weissenhaus Participation Model and Security, additional offer and security diagrams can be found here:
Participation Model:
The Companists grant subordinated profit-participating loans (as usual) with a fixed term of 5 years to “Weissenhaus Finanzierungsgesellschaft.” This company, in turn, provides Jan Henric Buettner with the capital for the same period and for a specific purpose.
Consequently, the Companists participate – via the financing company – in the entire resort, i.e., in the entire property (Wangels land register, page 1992/2054/2602/2623), and at the same level as property owner Jan Henric Buettner.
The contracts specify four types of income that the Companists will receive:
- A fixed interest rate of 4 % p.a. (independent of the earnings/results)
- A variable bonus interest rate that depends on the economic success of the resort (i.e., on the fixed and variable income from rent)
- Depending on the scenario that applies (see business plan), a+b added together make up a total interest rate of at least 4 % and up to approx. 8 % p.a. before taxes
- The total interest is paid out annually
- An additional participation in increases in the property value
Security:
By means of land charge certificates for a sufficient amount (i.e., the total investment of all Companists and all minimum interest payments for the regular term of five years), Jan Henric Buettner provides the financing company with security that would not even be affected, for instance, by an insolvency of the management company.
Moreover, Jan Henric Buettner guarantees the repayment of the investments of the Companists by means of his private assets.
According to Companisto, “This structure combines some advantages for the Companists: Unlike in the case of conventional funds (e.g., the Heiligendamm funds of Fundus group), investors participate not only in the success of a specific management company, but also in the property and increases in its value, no matter in which way the compound will be used by any kind of management company over the medium term.”
Explaining further, “In the worst case imaginable, i.e., the insolvency of the current Weissenhaus management company, the Companists would only be affected in so far as possible problems in the operation would influence the variable interest rate, but not the fixed minimum interest rate of 4 % p.a. or potential increases in the property value. In other words, the fixed minimum interest rate of 4 % p.a. will be paid in any case. Even in the highly unlikely case of an (additional) private insolvency of Jan Henric Buettner, the Companists would be protected through the land charge certificates signed over to the financing company.”
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