A real estate club deal is a private collective investment: a small circle of investors co-finances ONE identified property operation — an asset, a project, a business plan — held in a dedicated vehicle created for it, then dissolved once the operation completes. Neither an open-ended fund nor a standardised product: every participant knows precisely what they hold, with whom, and under which rules.

Key points

  • A club deal finances a SINGLE, identified operation — its structural difference from a diversified fund: you choose a project, not a pocket.
  • The dedicated vehicle (a company created for the operation) isolates risk, locks the rules into its articles and a shareholders' agreement, then disappears at exit.
  • Three roles to separate before committing: who SOURCES the operation (the operator), who DECIDES during its life (governance), who CONTROLS (reporting, accounts, auditors where applicable).
  • Illiquidity is constitutive: you enter for the duration of the business plan. A club deal promising easy liquidity is describing something other than what it is.
  • Quality shows in what is presented BEFORE subscription: the study file, sourced assumptions, exit scenarios, operator alignment.

What separates a club deal from a standard property placement

In a standardised placement the investor delegates everything: asset selection, calendar, governance. In a club deal, they choose a precise operation and may examine every assumption. That transparency has a counterpart: it demands work. Reading a business plan, understanding a holding structure, assessing an operator — that is the real entry price, far more than the minimum ticket.

The three questions that precede any subscription

Who sources the operation, and what do they stand to lose? An operator not invested alongside you, or whose remuneration is independent of the final result, is not aligned the way a co-invested operator is. Our house conviction: alignment is demonstrated, not declared.

Who decides what, during the life of the deal? Works arbitrations, refinancing, the decision to sell: every power must be written before subscription — articles and pact — not negotiated along the way. We detail this mechanic in our text on club deal governance.

What do you see, and how often? Reporting is not a courtesy: it is an organised obligation. Frequency, content, access to accounts — all verifiable before committing.

The house reading

We have structured operations for restricted circles for over a decade, across several jurisdictions. What that practice teaches: selection does most of the work. We retain roughly one project out of twenty studied — not as a posture, but because an operation whose assumptions fail at study stage does not improve at execution. A club deal is an excellent vehicle for good operations; it does not turn a mediocre operation into a good one.

General, non-personalised information: a club deal is a long-term commitment carrying capital-loss risk; every situation calls for licensed advice.