– KHP Capital Partners, a private real estate investment firm focused on lifestyle hotels, closed on $300 million of commitments for its sixth discretionary real estate fund.
– The firm targets hotel acquisitions that can benefit from improved branding and management, renovations, repositioning, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings.
– Notable projects include the upcoming 1 Hotel Seattle (formerly Pan Pacific) and the Jay Hotel in San Francisco (formerly Le Meridien).
– KHP was founded in 2015 by Michael Depatie, Joseph Long, and Ben Rowe as a continuation of their hotel private equity business from Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.
– Prior to Kimpton’s 2015 sale to IHG, the founding team also managed its hotel and restaurant operations.
– KHP now manages $1 billion in equity and owns 16 hotels, with two additional hotel credit investments.
– The firm is currently led by Managing Partners Joe Long and Ben Rowe, and CIO Jeff Stulmaker.
– The sixth fund has already made three investments: a hotel conversion project in Charlotte, NC; a mortgage note acquisition in Seattle; and the purchase of Hotel Viking in Newport, RI.
– The fund aims to invest in 8–10 projects, focusing on major U.S. markets and select leisure destinations.
– With co-invest equity and leverage, the fund’s $300M could yield nearly $1 billion in buying power.
– Managing Partner Ben Rowe expressed satisfaction with strong investor support, highlighting expanded backing from both existing and new institutional LPs.
– Chief Investment Officer Jeff Stulmaker said the timing is ideal to capitalize on market distress and high interest rates, emphasizing the firm’s ability to unlock value through operational improvements, renovations, and adaptive reuse strategies.
