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INTERVIEW


investor CRAIG COGUT


In 2012, Pegasus Capital Partners bought the Asia-based resort and spa company Six Senses with a view to its global expansion. Three years on, the fi rm’s founding partner tells Rhianon Howells what they’ve achieved so far and where they go next


A


t first glance, Pegasus Capital Advisors’ decision to buy Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas three years ago may have seemed a


little surprising. After all, the US-based private equity fi rm didn’t have a track record of investing in spas or hospitality, while the Asia-based development and management company had built its reputation on creating intimate, slightly quirky and highly localised (albeit highly luxurious) experiences of a kind not obviously compatible with the growth expectations of most private equity investors. You don’t have to delve too deeply, however,


to understand what attracted Pegasus to the contract management business – then includ- ing 10 Six Senses- or Evason-branded resorts and spas, plus 18 Six Senses Spas in other properties – which it purchased from founders Sonu and Eva Shivadasani and shareholders for an undisclosed sum in April 2012.


actively seeks to partner companies “commit- ted to overcoming global resource scarcity in the fi elds of health and wellness, sustainable communities, energy and zero waste”. Meanwhile, Six Senses, which turns 20 this


year, has long been a pioneer of sustainable practices in the hospitality industry, as well as one of the fi rst resort brands to put spa and wellness at the heart of its offering. Add to this Cogut’s experience of investing


Craig Cogut founded Pegasus in 1996 and serves as chair and president


Since 1996 Pegasus Capital Advisors, under the steerage of its founding partner, chair and president Craig Cogut, has made its name by specialising in sustainable and, more recently, wellness-related investments. With current assets under management of $1.8bn, the fi rm


in hotels with a signifi cant spa presence and the potential for Pegasus to add value – and for Six Senses to deliver it – is clear. “[We felt] the brand was uniquely positioned but hadn’t been fully fl eshed out or grown,” says Cogut, who co-founded Apollo Advisors (now Apollo Global Management) prior to set- ting up Pegasus. “Our belief was that this was an absolutely tremendous platform.” In addition to the company’s environmental


and wellness credentials, Cogut cites the evocative identity – “you couldn’t ask for a better name” – and the properties themselves as key factors in the decision to buy. “The existing resorts were spectacular. The bones were there, both in terms of architecture and design and in terms of every Six Senses being different and having its own sense of place.” Combined with steady growth in the luxury travel market and increasing recognition of wellness in the hospitality sector, there was, says Cogut, an opportunity for the Asia-based company to become a global leader. Since then, the fi rm has further strengthened its spa and wellness portfolio with the acquisition in 2013 of Raison d’Etre Spas, the Stockholm-based spa consultancy and management company. Three years on from the Six Senses acquisi-


Six Senses was founded in 1995 106 CLADGLOBAL.COM


tion, how close is Pegasus to realising its goals for its fi rst spa and hospitality investment? And as a fund manager whose obligation is to its investors, what’s its next move?


CLADmag 2015 ISSUE 2


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