FERAX Capital AG takes over 100% of Camping Lodge AG
Frankfurt/Zug, 01.12.2022 - FERAX Capital AG (WKN: A2LQ71, ISIN: DE000A2LQ710), an investment company focusing on second-line stocks, has acquired 100% of the share capital of Camping Lodge AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, by means of a capital increase against contribution in kind. Camping Lodge AG is the second largest owner and operator of campsites in Switzerland and is about to enter the German market. The company's goal is to become the leading provider of camping vacations in the DACH region through acquisitions with quality, sustainability and profitability. Resulting adjustments in the strategy of FERAX Capital AG will be communicated together with the annual results 2022 in January 2023.
Camping Lodge AG makes campsites fit for the future
The entry of Camping Lodge AG ("Camping Lodge") into the Swiss market amounted to a veritable wake-up call in the Swiss camping industry. Its concept, consistently focused on quality and service as well as sustainability and ecology, recognizes profitability as an important sustainability factor. As a result, and following a rigorous audit, this year two Camping Lodge campsites became the first in Switzerland to be awarded the "ibex fairstay" certificate, the leading quality label in the field of sustainable tourism.
As part of the strategy, a lot of energy and resources have been invested over the past three years in developing comprehensive digitization of all processes. Thanks to the development of a central, efficient administration, the campsites are relieved of the areas of finance and human resources and receive comprehensive support in marketing and on-site management. The mostly newly recruited, well-trained operators can thus concentrate fully on their camping guests and ensure high quality and service with their employees.
Camping Lodge currently operates five campsites under four brands in Switzerland. It is currently in negotiations to take over further sites. Market entry in Germany is imminent.
The acquisition of new campsites most often comes from succession arrangements, either from previous owners or from municipalities seeking a new operator for the municipally owned site. Camping Lodge has made a name for itself in sensitively tailoring such transactions to the needs of the previous owners and conducting a process that takes all stakeholders into account.
The camping market in the DACH region has been completely underestimated to date
In 2020, 4,068 campsites were counted in the DACH region (Germany 3,066, Austria 602, Switzerland 400), which recorded 46.9 million overnight stays. The total turnover was estimated at approx. EUR 1.8 - 2.2 billion.
The DACH region is still considered to be completely fragmented. In Germany, for example, only just 2.2% of the market, i.e. around 80 campsites, are in the hands of six companies. The rest of the market consists of individual operators and owners.
This is in stark contrast to the rest of Europe. These markets have already experienced strong waves of consolidation, in some cases creating very large groups. These are now almost all owned by large private equity firms such as KKR, Apax and Carlyle. Only in the DACH region none of these large groups has yet become active. Camping Lodge is the first institutional platform which has started to consolidate this market professionally.
FERAX Capital AG as a platform for the consolidation of the camping market in the DACH region
The boards of FERAX Capital AG ("FERAX") and Camping Lodge agreed that FERAX represents the optimal platform for the further consolidation of the camping market in the DACH region. It not only forms the basis for a first step towards the capital market, but also allows the implementation of the strategy with the necessary transparency and under strict governance rules. Both are indispensable prerequisites for the acceptance of the concept and thus of the company in the institutional capital market.
Acquisition through capital increase and adaptation of the organization
For the acquisition of Camping Lodge, FERAX increased its share capital by EUR 3,168,000 new no-par value bearer shares at an issue price of EUR 1.00 per share to EUR 3,801,600.00 by exercising its authorized capital.
Analogous to the takeover of campsites, the integration of Camping Lodge into FERAX will also be carried out gradually over the next few weeks, taking into account all stakeholders. It is intended that the two founders René Müller and Jan Vyskocil will join FERAX as board members. Further adjustments and the timetable for capital measures will be communicated together with the 2022 annual results in early 2023.
Sascha Magsamen, CEO of FERAX, says: "With the Camping Lodge founders, we have been able to gain a very interesting investment and a highly experienced team to now take FERAX to the next level of corporate development. The previous strategic approach as an investment company for second-line stocks will be abandoned, and FERAX will become an operating company and active participant in the camping market."
René Müller, Chairman of the Board of Camping Lodge, says: "In Switzerland, it has been shown that our business model works. Both my partner Jan Vyskocil and I have always been very international in our business over the past 30 years, so the move to Germany is a natural one for us. We are particularly looking forward to the German camping market, where we see the same structural opportunities as in Switzerland."