Growing hotel, restaurant and bar group Experimental has welcomed two new shareholders to the business. Designer Christian Louboutin and Alexis Dyevre will both be taking a minority stake in the business, aiming to inject their flair into future projects.
They will join existing shareholders Jean Moueix and Brookfield Asset Management in helping to drive forward the Experimental business, as it expands across Europe. The pair already jointly have an interest in French hospitality furniture manufacturer Maison Gatti.
An entrepreneurial spirit
“Christian’s entrepreneurial spirit matches the values of Experimental Group,” said Experimental co-founder and partner, Olivier Bon. “His international reputation, multidisciplinary artistic collaborations, creativity and intuition will be invaluable assets in supporting our development.”
The company was launched in 2007 and has built a network of complementary hotels, cocktail club bars, wine bars and beach clubs. It continues to push the boundaries, experimenting and trying new concepts. In mid 2024, for example, its new central London restaurant, Henri, opened in its Henrietta hotel in the Covent Garden district of the UK capital. This drew on a successful collaboration with chef Jackson Boxer, via the group’s Cowley Manor hotel in the Cotswolds – itself a departure from other hotels in the group, being a listed country house set in extensive grounds.
As of mid 2024, it has 10 hotels in London, Paris, Ibiza, Biarritz, Verbier, Menorca, Venice and the Cotswolds. For 2025, the group has three planned openings. In the French ski destination of Val d’Isère, it will open a 113 room hotel, rebranding the Aigle des Neiges chalet hotel. The reimagined property will feature a spa, two restaurants, and the group’s sixth cocktail bar.
European growth
In Rome, plans are well advanced for the group’s next hotel in Italy, with 78 rooms, a glass roofed restaurant, cocktail bar and a rooftop swimming pool with views of the Colosseum. In central Paris, a private mansion is being transformed to create a 43 room hotel with indoor pool and spa.
The bar network extends to locations in Paris, London, the Cotswolds, Venice, Verbier and New York with wine bars in Paris, London and New York. The beach club format has been launched in Ibiza, and in the southern French destination of Cannes.
It was in late 2021 that seasoned private equity investor Brookfield opted to take a majority stake in Experimental. A new linked property company was set up, with up to EUR350m in capital made available to acquire 10 to 15 new locations over a three year period. Investor Bpifrance also acquired a stake alongside the Canadian investors.
