Patron expands hostel and football interests ahead of exit

Patron Capital Partners, the US private equity investor with €1.7bn (£1.5bn) of assets, is rolling out two businesses ahead of an exit.

It is in talks to buy sites for its Generator Hostels business.

It has four sites open – in London, Berlin, Copenhagen and Dublin – another four under construction – in Hamburg, Venice, Barcelona and Berlin – and is in talks to secure further sites in Paris, Madrid, London and Barcelona.

Josh Wyatt, Patron Capital's director of hospitality and leisure, said: "Generator Hostels is a brand that can expand through Europe in Spain and France, but the business will be a global brand in the medium term. Youth hostels is a growth sector – just as boutique hotels were in the 1980s when Ian Schrager was creating the first."

The selling point of Generator Hostels is cheap accommodation with well-designed bars, facilities and social areas. In its central London hostel, near Russell Square, rooms cost from £18 a night.

Patron is also rolling out its Powerleague 5-a-side football venues, with sites planned in Ireland, France and Spain in the medium term and the US in the long term. It has 45 venues in the UK.

Patron, founded by former Lehman Brothers banker Keith Breslauer in 1999, invests in businesses with property assets at their core. It then finds run-down premises or vacant sites which it develops. It has also invested in hotels and Manchester's MEN Arena .

The company has a further €400m of equity to invest in other businesses.