Author: lgi

Alongside VICARTEM Hôtellerie and Younight Hospitality, EXTENDAM has acquired Hôtel Les Brises, a 50-room 3-star property located on the seafront in La Rochelle.

The hotel will undergo a full repositioning into a boutique hotel: renovation of rooms and common areas, new interior design, air conditioning setting and a new revenue management strategy implementation .

Its location —between the marina, the historic city centre and the La Pallice business district— enables the asset to attract both leisure guests and business travelers.

Inès de l’Aulnoit, Managing Partner at EXTENDAM, explains:
“This acquisition is part of a deep trend in the French hotel market: moving away from standardised properties in favour of more distinctive and personalised experiences.”

This deal is part of a long-term partnership between EXTENDAM and VICARTEM, already behind joint projects in Brussels, Nantes and Paris.

➡️ A transformation helping to diversify the hotel offering on the Atlantic coast.

Read the article on Hospitality On

Winners of the 2025 Green Finance Awards have been announced. Énergie Partagée stands out with two distinctions:

🔹 Winner – “Foundations & Associations”, for its innovative financing offers enabling direct mobilisation of citizen savings to fund locally governed renewable energy projects.

🔹 Winner – “Impact & ESG Investment”, confirming the relevance of citizen financing as a lever for sustainable, transparent and locally rooted investment.

These awards recognise a model that strengthens local energy autonomy while opening up investment to everyone.

➡️ Strong recognition for Énergie Partagée’s financing solutions and their concrete contribution to the energy transition.

Discover the list of winners

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s remain incurable, leaving patients and families without treatment or hope.

Dr. Laure Jamot and Professor Frédéric Saudou founded HuntX Pharma in December 2022 to  address the root cause: defects in axonal transport, a key mechanism for neuronal communication.

The biotech is developing HX127, a molecule capable of restoring axonal transport—without relying on gene therapy.

👉 Already supported by a €1.7M seed round and winner of the I-Nov competition (France 2030) with an additional €2M, the startup is now preparing its first clinical trials.

🫰 An innovation that could extend beyond Huntington’s disease and open the way to treatments for other neurodegenerative pathologies.

Discover HuntX Pharma

EXTENDAM expands its presence in Portugal by acquiring a majority stake in Hospes Infante Sagres Porto, the city’s first 5-star hotel, alongside Experimental Group.

Opened in 1951 in the historic centre, the property features 85 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a bar, three meeting rooms and a terrace with a pool. Its reposition will be entrusted to Experimental Group, renowned for its lifestyle expertise.

As Matthieu de Lauzon, Partner at EXTENDAM, states:
“Infante Sagres is an iconic property that fits perfectly with our strategy: enhancing exceptional heritage assets with visionary operators such as Experimental Group.”

This operation adds to EXTENDAM’s existing investments in Portugal, including M.Ou.Co, Hilton Porto Gaia and Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade.

Read the article on CFNEWS IMMO

The Najac (Aveyron) district heating network has just received the Énergie Partagée Label, a highly demanding national distinction recognising the most virtuous renewable energy projects for territories.

The label evaluates projects according to five criteria: territorial impact, local dynamics, ethical and citizen finance, shared governance and ecology.

The project, led by the municipality and the EnerCOA cooperative, includes a wood-chip boiler supplying six public and four private buildings—reducing fossil fuel use and securing heating costs.

Supported by ADEME and assisted by SCIC BEL, the project fully meets the label’s criteria.

➡️ A new illustration of citizen energy serving local energy autonomy.

Read the article in La Dépêche du Midi

Every day, 1,000 bicycles are stolen in France, hindering the rise of soft mobility. Founded in 2021 by Paul Ravet and Octave Kleynjans, Velhome offers an innovative solution: a non-profit platform allowing cyclists to park securely at hosts’ homes.

🎯 Objective: restore cyclists’ confidence and build a network of safe, supportive and accessible parking spots.

🔧 How does it work?
Cyclists locate parking spots on an interactive map, and hosts offer space to accommodate bikes. Together, they contribute to the first national stolen bike database and strengthen collective safety.

🌍 Impact: more than 500 hosts across France, Belgium and Switzerland; an engaged community; and a collaborative model supporting sustainable mobility and urban solidarity.

👉 More than a parking solution, Velhome is a movement for more bike-friendly, human and sustainable cities.

Discover Velhome

Thanks to Les Grandes Idées, Jean-Marc Palhon, Chairman of EXTENDAM, was interviewed by Christophe Palierse for Les Echos.

🗣️ “The farther you move from the centre, the fiercer the competition. Hotels try to fill rooms by lowering prices. This leads to segment competition: 4-star hotels chase 3-star clients, who in turn chase 2-star customers. The gap with Paris is also huge, as the capital is currently outperforming,” he notes.

Based on MKG data covering the first 24 days of October, the average occupancy rate in the capital reached nearly 90%, increasing compared with 2023 and 2024. This comes with higher ADR (almost €271, up more than 4%) and RevPAR.

“With supply so scarce and expensive, Paris is now the most expensive city in Europe. The price per key reaches €600,000. London follows at €400,000 per room. Other capitals lag far behind, ranging from €150,000 to €300,000 for Rome, Madrid or Brussels,” says Jean-Marc Palhon.

Read the full article in Les Echos

In Andilly (Charente-Maritime), a locally driven wind farm demonstrates the power of the citizen model. Alongside the town hall and 440 residents, businesses and local authorities, Énergie Partagée Investissement supports a project where the territory remains in charge of its energy.

With 31% of the capital, the local cooperative holds the majority on the steering committee—a meaningful governance choice. The success of the project is matched by residents’ enthusiasm, and a new citizen-led solar project is already underway.

➡️ A concrete example of how citizen energy enables territories to produce, decide… and transform themselves.

Read Gilles Caprais’ article for Libération

Every year in France, 9 million tons of still-usable items are thrown away by households, and the value of unsold non-food goods reaches 4 billion euros.

While observing this huge waste, Hakim Baka and Florian Blanc launched Geev, the leading platform for donating items and food between individuals—turning it into a simple, local, and accessible gesture.

📱 In just a few years, Geev has enabled millions of donations and created a true community of “Geevers” who give, collect, and share within a framework that is trusting, safe, and local.

“The culture of giving already exists in everyone’s heart… Our role is to bring this desire to give closer to everyday life,” — Hakim Baka.

🌍 Thanks to Geev, circular economy becomes a natural reflex, and every action counts—whether to declutter our homes, reduce waste, or help someone nearby.

👉 Check out Hakim Baka’s full interview

Overlooking the south bank of the Douro River, the Hilton Porto Gaia—opened in 2021—has joined EXTENDAM’s portfolio through a strategic partnership with Highgate.

A rare premium asset in a fast-growing market, the hotel features spacious rooms, extensive wellness spaces, strong brand positioning and a balanced leisure–corporate appeal.

In his interview with Hospitality Investor, Maxime Durand, Investment Director – Hospitality, highlights the strategic rationale: “It’s a landmark transaction in a growing market with long-term value and potential. You’re buying something really rare, at a decent price, with room to do even better in the future”.

For EXTENDAM, Porto’s rising international attractiveness, paired with Highgate’s operational expertise, creates a strong foundation for value creation.

This acquisition reflects the group’s continued expansion across Europe and its ambition to grow within the premium and luxury urban hotel segment.

Read article on Hospitality Investor