Former Formula 1 Team Principal and hospitality entrepreneur Flavio Briatore has sold four venues owned by his Majestas Group, including Twiga Monte Carlo, to fellow Italian businessman Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio. The deal will see three Twiga nightlife hubs and Porto Cervo’s Billionaire club-restaurant merge with the Triple Sea Food venture to form the new LMDV Hospitality group.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the deal to sell Twiga Monte Carlo, Twiga Forte dei Marmi, Twiga Baia Beniamin and Billionaire in Porto Cervo to Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio’s new LMDV Hospitality group, first announced at the end of 2024, has now been finalised for an undisclosed sum.
Briatore appeared to confirm the news on social media, stating, “Twiga has been an icon of luxury entertainment and one of the most prestigious brands in our group. Now the time has come to entrust it to an entity capable of enhancing its future with an ambitious and structured vision. LMDV Hospitality has the potential to take Twiga to the next level while respecting its DNA and opening the door to new growth opportunities. I wish Leonardo Maria and the Triple Sea Food team a future filled with well-deserved success.”
Briatore, the man behind the Twiga brand and the Billionaire nightlife and entertainment concept, reportedly sold the venues with the aim of spending more of his time focusing on Formula 1.
Billionaire in Porto Cervo is set to be rebranded under the Twiga name at some point during 2025, while LMDV will open a fifth Twiga site in Milan on Via Turati in September. LMDV has reportedly enlisted architect Stefano Belingardi to oversee the transition and transformation of three of the venues, with the Fanti Bozzetti Menegon Studio understood to be in charge of the changes at the Forte dei Marmi address.
Corriere della Sera reports that the acquisition marks the start of a “new era” in luxury hospitality for LMDV Hospitality, in the words of its CEO Marco Talarico, who has set the goal of combining high-end dining, entertainment and lifestyle elements to create iconic destinations for a global audience and achieve €60 million in revenue by 2026.
“The acquisition of Twiga is a crucial step in LMDV Hospitality’s growth. It’s not just an investment; Twiga is more than a brand—it’s a commitment to enhancing and redefining hospitality in Italy and abroad,” said Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, President of LMDV Hospitality, in comments to Corriere della Sera.
LMDV Hospitality is part of Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio’s LMDV Capital entity. The Italian businessman and billionaire, who is worth $6.4 billion according to Forbes, is the son of the late EssilorLuxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio. LMDV Capital invests across multiple asset classes around the world, including venture and growth capital, private equity and hedge funds.
Other venues making up the new group include Triple Sea Food’s Casa Fiori Chiari, Trattoria del Ciumbia and Vesta. As reported by the Italian newspaper, LMDV Capital will hold more than 80% of the newly created entity, while the Wertheimer family, the owners of Chanel and current minority stakeholders in Triple Sea Food, will decide in the coming months whether to retain their share.
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Photo source: Twiga Monte Carlo