Acquisition: Kardham strengthens its position in Europe and diversifies into luxury, retail and hospitality sectors

Founded in 2010, Seventy Eight S.L. is a leading Spanish company operating for Premium clients in Design & Build. It specializes in projects for luxury goods companies, multinational retailers, high-end restaurants and hotels, and corporate clients - highly complementary verticals to the predominantly tertiary sector currently operated by Kardham Spain, headed by Juan Ignacio Jimenez. Seventy Eight S.L.'s references in Spain include flagships, boutiques and concept stores for Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, Salvatore Ferragamo and Loewe in the luxury sector; Mango, Rituals and Tommy Hilfiger in the retail sector; Starbucks and Häagen Dazs in the foodservice sector. In France, Le Printemps, Foot Locker's flagship store on the Champs-Élysées, and Roland Garros' redevelopment of its shopping malls are just a few of its achievements.

Seventy Eight S.L. is based in Zaragoza, Spain's ^5th largest city, conveniently located between the country's two main metropolitan areas, Madrid - where Kardham Spain is based - and Barcelona. It was founded by Ramón Pomar Milián and José Manuel Terrén, and is named after the year in which they were both born. It employs around fifty people. Since its creation, it has gone from strength to strength, and is now present in several European countries, including Spain and France.

Thanks to this merger, Seventy Eight S.L. can draw on Kardham's strengths, those of a large, structured and already internationalized group, and its many cross-functional competencies such as CSR and R&D, to be able to change scale: with a steady annual increase in sales of around 15% in recent years, the Spanish company is aiming to achieve revenues of 40 million euros by 2026.

For its part, with this acquisition, Kardham can capitalize on Seventy Eight S.L.'s already rich experience in Europe to accelerate its European expansion, particularly in Spain, where it aims to become a leading player. In addition, the acquisition should serve Kardham as a growth driver in two fast-developing segments: upscale/luxury retail - which is forecast to grow by +3% a year between 2024 and 2028* - and hotels, which are enjoying a promising dynamic: investment volumes in European hotel real estate are forecast to grow by 15-25% by 2024, particularly in Spain, where tourism is making a strong comeback and upscale/luxury segments are attracting many investors**.

“Joining the Kardham Group is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow even faster. Relying on the experience of a 30-year-old Group and the expertise of its multi-skilled teams is a considerable asset for achieving the ambitious growth targets we have set ourselves. We share many common values with Kardham - innovation, internationalism - and look forward to building our future together”, say Ramón Pomar Milián and José Manuel Terrén, founders of Seventy Eight S.L.

"We are delighted to welcome Seventy Eight S.L. to the Kardham family. Although they both trade in Design & Build, Kardham Spain and Seventy Eight S.L. are complementary in terms of the sectors in which they operate, and this offers excellent development prospects for each of our Spanish entities. What's more, joining forces with Seventy Eight S.L. launches us on a bold new European adventure with a team that already has a strong international culture”, continues Ursula Raidt, Strategic Development & International Director of the Kardham Group.

"The acquisition of Seventy Eight S.L. is in line with Kardham's long-standing strategic commitment to accelerate our European expansion. In addition to geographic diversification, it also reflects our desire to pursue our external growth efforts in terms of sector diversification, whenever opportunities make sense. This is the case here with the buoyant retail, premium hospitality and luxury segments, and we are delighted to be doing so with a company as prestigious and promising as Seventy Eight S.L.”, concludes Jean-François Couëc, Chairman of the Kardham Group.