Chris Hohn’s hedge fund TCI bets on Italian luxury hotels
Billionaire stockpicker has stakes in loans to landmark properties in Venice, Capri, Lake Como and Milan
Sir Christopher Hohn’s hedge fund has invested $636mn in loans to ultra-luxury hotels in Italy, betting that room rates will continue to surge as wealthy tourists clamour for stays at a scarce group of prime locations.
Billionaire stockpicker Hohn, one of the world’s most profitable hedge fund managers, is best known for his large bets on companies including Alphabet, jet engine manufacturer GE Aerospace and French infrastructure company Vinci through The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI).
But a little-known slice of the master fund’s $77bn portfolio is dedicated to investing in real estate loans, according to a letter to investors seen by the FT, with the vast majority allocated to luxury Italian hotels.
The investments give Hohn’s fund exposure to Italy’s booming luxury hotel market, which is being fuelled by surging demand from wealthy international travellers and fierce competition among investors for a scarce pool of trophy properties.
TCI’s biggest position in the sector is a $392mn stake in a loan to the landmark hotel Danieli in Venice, a gothic construction overlooking the lagoon which was built in the late 1400s for an elite Venetian family. It has undergone a major renovation after its operator switched from Marriott to the Four Seasons in 2022, with work set to be completed next year.
TCI also has a stake in a $132mn loan to the Hotel Caesar Augustus on the island of Capri, $74mn lent to the Six Senses hotel on Lake Como and $38mn lent to the Mandarin Oriental in Milan, the letter showed. Outside Italy, it has exposure to $62mn in borrowing by the Six Senses hotel in Ibiza. All the hotels are owned by Italian real estate company Gruppo Statuto.
TCI’s master fund does not make the loans directly, instead taking pieces of loans originated by a private credit firm led by investor Martin Frass-Ehrfeld, which manages external money. TCI has a stake in the firm and Hohn is on its investment committee.
Hohn is almost singularly focused on pricing power in his investments, focusing on high-quality companies that can push through inflation-beating price rises and weather competition. He is particularly interested in companies that have monopolies or duopolies.
This philosophy also applies to TCI’s real estate debt portfolio. Revenue per available room — a key metric in the hotel industry — climbed 53 per cent between 2019 and the end of 2025 in Italy, faster than any other country in Europe, according to figures collated by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
That growth was led by the luxury market, as five-star hotels continued to draw in wealthy tourists even as room rates climbed rapidly.
Investors are competing for unique assets, from historic palazzi and former convents to landmark buildings in Rome, Milan and Venice and properties in destinations such as Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast. Tight planning rules and a scarcity of suitable sites have further constrained supply, prompting owners to pour money into converting and upgrading existing properties.
But prices could come under pressure as major hotel groups expand rapidly in the country to meet the surging demand. Major openings last year included Rocco Forte’s The Carlton in Milan and Orient Express La Minerva in Rome, while the new Corinthia Rome opened this February. Venice’s historic Bauer Hotel, which closed in 2022, is preparing to reopen under the ultra-luxury brand Rosewood.
The fund was up 3.5 per cent for the year as of June 30, recovering from losses earlier in the year in aerospace companies and payment services. Hohn’s portfolio of infrastructure, aerospace, payment services and technology stocks remained largely unchanged, the letter showed.