Betting on Berlin

Tourists, hipsters, everybody is welcome. Party like it’s 1945.” That’s the slogan of the underground political group Hipster Antifa Neukölln, founded last summer in Berlin in reaction to increasing resentment toward foreigners, who have been accused of gentrifying the city. Europe’s trendiest capital is attracting tourists and affluent expats, as well as property developers such as renowned private equity group Blackstone. It has also caught the attention of Beirut-based Real Capital Holding, which started investing in the city-state’s real estate in 2008. By end of May 2013, it was managing 65,000 square meters (sqm) distributed over 21 properties, and it just made its first exit, telling Executive that it achieved a 24 percent annual compounded internal rate of return on the sold property. The chairman of Real Capital Holding is Karim Salameh, who earned early accolades as manager of Eagle One by Bank Saradar, Lebanon’s first-ever property investment vehicle, akin