Pacha has left Ibiza behind and, staying true to the name of his company (Universo Pacha SA), seeks to “expand” beyond the Balearic archipelago. universally. Mutual fund Trilantic Europe (through Akdeniz Sky International SA), which controls 87% of its shares, considers the two cherries to be strong enough to double the brand’s profitability beyond Pitius, where traditionally 98% of its business is concentrated. a company resource. Its aim is to establish cranes in the UK and the Persian Gulf, among other places. “partner wanted” poster
The banner, yes, has been hanging visibly for a week from the time El Confidencial published Pacha. Sold for 500 million euros, nearly 200m euros more than Trilantic paid its owner Ricardo Urgell in 2017. It didn’t take long for Universo Pacha to reject this and state that his intention was not to get rid of the brand, but to “incorporate a new brand”. “We are exploring the possibility of merging with a partner that will allow us to face the development of an ambitious international and national expansion project,” said a spokesperson for this nightlife company. Universo Pacha SA plans to open three new branches: a new restaurant in London by early 2023. Another summer in Mallorca next summer and in Dubai when the summer ends, he is also involved in the construction of a beach club in Marbella, which will be operational in the summer of 2023, together with businessman Rosauro Varo (President of GAT Inversiones) from Seville.
The goal is to “continue to expand the brand, which is a very important asset, to greater international visibility.” So after two seasons of extreme drought, cherry trees are not just ripening in Ibiza, which is fruiting abundantly this year: restore pre-pandemic profitability levels,” says the company spokesperson. A source from the investment group went even further, describing the year as “extraordinary”.
Trilantic assures that since 2017 its strategy is to make all the business knowledge that Pacha has in the entertainment world profitable abroad. He draws attention to the source of the investment fund, it does not make sense for a world-famous brand to collect almost all of its income (98%) in Ibiza. Various companies have already “knocked on the door” to show their interest in the brand and are drawing attention to this expansion strategy from the investment group. Who it will be and how it will be done has yet to be decided, says a spokesperson for Universo Pacha: “Nothing is certain yet. This possibility is being investigated. It will depend on who ultimately decides to join. We are now talking to potential investors to see if they are interested in this project and to get them involved in some way.
Will Trilantic continue to run Pacha or is it looking to get rid of its holdings? It was not decided either: “The goal now is to find someone to accompany the development of that project. But it would be speculation to talk about it right now,” explains the spokesperson. Trilantic Europe invests in a wide variety of businesses, from Pirelli tires to Rome airport. At the time, it also supported Talgo and Euskaltel, which it later divested (partly in the case of Talgo), once cleared and improved the structures of both companies.
From Universo Pacha also denies that the enormous blow to the finances of covid is rooted in the search for an investment partner. The company went from sales of 47.4 million euros in 2019 to 4.2 million euros (-91%) in 2020. During this time, its results fell by 6,432%: from the pre-pandemic green numbers (587,000 euros) to the very red numbers (-37.1 million euros) in 2020.
It was the fourth most solving Ibiza business in 2019, and the second most losing business a year later, even as everything indicates it will reverse the results of the crisis-mandated months of shutdown, with “extraordinary” results this summer. covid.
Only her daughter remains
Only a small mark remains in the shares of the founder of Pacha: 10%. And not on behalf of Ricardo Urgell, but on behalf of his daughter, Iria Urgell Calderón. «The time has come when my children are not for work, they are not fans of night and disco. Two years after Ricardo Urgell paid nearly 300 million for the nightclub (and network) he created from the ground up in Ibiza (and recently Sitges) nearly half a century ago, I thought to La Vanguardia: sell it.”
Getting rid of his toy upset Ricardo Urgell (or so he says): “But that’s what he had to do. […] I sold it with all the pain of the world, but the heirs accepted. Only his daughter Iria is still connected with work.