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F1 Championship leader Valtteri Bottas backs Monaco luxury property investor and developer
By Staff Writer - May 9, 2019
Formula One championship leader Valtteri Bottas has become a major shareholder in Monaco property investment company Azurite, set up by serial entrepreneur and fellow Monaco resident Nigel Robertson.
Current F1 Championship leader Valtteri Bottas
Bottas, a seasoned investor currently leading the F1 championship, will become Azurite’s global brand ambassador. The company is readying plans to raise significant funding over the coming months to take advantage of luxury property demand in Monaco, where Bottas lives.
Azurite’s backers include high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors and family offices. The business aims to capitalise on the Principality’s constricted property market by opening up investment in development and refurbishment to outside investors for the first time.
Azurite was founded by Nigel Robertson, a Monaco resident of 20 years who has a strong network across the Principality and built his career by launching online directory service Scoot.com, which achieved a market cap of £2.5 billion. He was also the largest seed investor in ASOS, the online fashion giant, now valued at over £3.9bn.
Working in partnership with local developers including Monaco Projects, which has two decades of experience in the area, Robertson has created a strong team with senior property and investment figures. He sees huge opportunity within the secure and notoriously private Monaco market.
“It’s fantastic to have Valtteri on board and as one of the world’s leading sportsmen, he will be a great ambassador for Azurite,” said Nigel Robertson, founder of Azurite.
“Right now, there’s growing demand for Monaco property with a huge barrier to entry for external investors. Like Monaco’s F1 circuit, the market is very tight but we’re looking to change that and partner with local developers to create new properties and refurbish some of the older ones. Against a backdrop of uncertainty – particularly with major changes in retail and the political chaos in Britain – Monaco is a highly attractive opportunity with solid fundamentals and continued strong demand.”
Rendering of luxury apartments on the new Portier man-made island in Monaco. Picture: BOUYGUES CONSTRUCTION
Demand for new resident applications has been so great that the Monaco government has approved an investment of over €2 billion into a land reclamation project to create new villas and apartments across six hectares of land. Despite the country being only slightly bigger than London’s Regent’s Park, property prices can easily support the investment thanks to the severe lack of supply.
“Timing is everything in F1 and in business, and Nigel has a proven track record in finding the right opportunities to enter a market,” said Valtteri Bottas. “As an F1 driver, I have grown to love Monaco and am very excited about helping Azurite open up the market to different investors, many of whom wouldn’t typically invest in the country’s exclusive residential market on their own.
“Monaco has a close family network – much like the F1 circuit – and these relationships will be critical to helping Azurite unlock opportunities for investors, coming at a time of exciting growth across the principality.”
Bottas has had a sensational start to the season and is currently leading the F1 Championship having won the season opener in Australia as well as Azerbaijan. His team Mercedes have had the most successful start to the season in the sport’s history with four consecutive one-two’s in Australia, Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan.
Significant demand and limited space has led to growth in the price of property in Monaco, which has witnessed 10.5% annual compounded price growth since 2006, according to Monaco Statistics IMSEE, and saw the highest global inflows of HNWIs last year out of all countries.
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has signed the Arctic Commitment and pledged its support for a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping.
A new website, Monaco Santé, has been created in the Principality, providing information and services for residents and visitors including online bookings and consultations.
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has signed the Arctic Commitment and pledged its support for a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping.
A new website, Monaco Santé, has been created in the Principality, providing information and services for residents and visitors including online bookings and consultations.
Monaco has just completed its seventh year of Winter School in conjunction with the Sciences Po Menton campus, only this year, all classes were held virtually for the first time ever.
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[caption id="attachment_27299" align="alignnone" width="984"] Photo: Charly Gallo/DC[/caption]
Richard Marangoni, Director of Public Security, presented his New Year greetings in the presence of Prince Albert, Serge Telle, Minister of State, Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, as well as many leading figures in public life, at the traditional ceremony, which this year was held in the conference room of the Oceanographic Museum.
In his address, the Sovereign Prince said: “Security has always been one of the strengths of our country. It is up to us to make a pact to preserve it. Everyone must take part in it: women and men whose noble professional mission is to guarantee it, but, beyond that, everyone, through their discipline, and their understanding of the security measures put in place.”
After having discussed the security situation in 2017 and the implementation of the “Public Safety 2020” plan, including a strengthening of the workforce, Richard Marangoni said that over the 2012-2016 period, general crime had dropped by 28 percent and street crime by 43 percent.
“This trend, while one would have expected some stabilisation, continued in 2017 with a decrease of 1.04 percent for general delinquency and 16.58 percent for delinquency on public roads. Burglaries, meanwhile, fell by 17.14 percent,” he said.
In addition to “Public Safety 2020”, “Monaco, Safe City” is another initiative based on prevention and aimed at strengthening the security architecture of the Principality.
At the end of the ceremony, the Prince Albert presented the Outstanding Services Clasp, for acts of courage and dedication, to 19 police officers who distinguished themselves in 2016 and 2017.