Aware Super becomes majority shareholder in apartment-hotel owner and operator The July
14 July 2025
true
Aware Super has controlling interest in European apartment-hotel chain, The July
Aware Super, one of Australia’s largest super funds, has acquired APG's stake in the apartment-hotel owner and operator The July. Together with its existing stake which it acquired in July 2020, Aware Super now owns the majority of the business.
The investment is part of Aware Super’s commitment to invest £5.25 billion in the UK and continental Europe over five years after the opening of a London office in November 2023. This investment drive is targeted at real estate, infrastructure and private equity opportunities.
The announcement also reinforces the fund’s strategy focus on capturing emerging opportunities in the property market at a time when capital markets are being dislocated due to global macro-economic trends.
The July currently operates three sustainable, high-quality and design focused apartment-hotels in Amsterdam, each of which offers the full hotel experience plus fully equipped kitchens and a state-of-the-art gym, a sauna , plus food and drink outlets also owned by the group.
The business recently opened its first site in London near Victoria station and is in the process of developing three additional locations in Amsterdam, Dublin, and Lisbon.
The three Amsterdam sites have consistently outperformed their peer set demonstrating The July’s strong operational capabilities and product quality.
With the additional sites set to open in late 2026 and 2027, The July is well positioned to benefit from increased demand for long-stay, high quality serviced apartments in attractive locations across Europe
As a sector, apartment-hotels have seen significant growth in recent years on the back of broad-based increases in international travel and relocation, a significant reduction in the number of new hotel constructions, and a shift amongst consumers towards spending on experiences.
Apartment-hotels also have a more diversified demand base than traditional hotels as they attract both business visitors and long-stay guests, as well as leisure tourists. The July in particular focuses on providing for their neighbours, opening their lobbies for coworking and offering a unique ‘neighbourhood key’ loyalty scheme - giving access to exclusive offers and events for residents within their postal code.
Building on its existing platform, The July’s long-term strategy is to grow the business to an efficient scale via its existing development pipeline, while reviewing opportunities to acquire new locations on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to the existing development sites, The July are actively sourcing new sites across other gateway European cities.
Aware Super Senior Portfolio Manager – Property UK Mathieu Elshout said: “With its uniquely diverse customer base, strong growth, and limited supply, the Aparthotels market represents a high conviction subsector for Aware Super.
“The July provides an industry leading offer, and the current platform represents a strong base from which to expand the business across Europe. The strong performance of the business since we first acquired a stake in 2020 gives us great confidence in its future, and we are confident this investment will be a strong addition to our portfolio, which will look to deliver robust returns for our 1.2 million members in Australia.”
Alex Goad, Co-Founder and CEO of The July, said: “This transaction represents an important milestone in the history of The July, as with its high-quality offer, unrivalled locations, and strong development pipeline, the business is ideally placed to benefit from the increased demand for aparthotels across Europe. Aware Super has been a supportive partner for five years, and we look forward to collaborating still further as we take The July to the next level.”
Robert-Jan Foortse, Head of European Real Estate at APG said: “APG was early to identify European aparthotels as an attractive segment within the hospitality industry. The product is still very much under-represented in Europe, and therefore offers substantial growth opportunities. Over our holding period we have been very pleased with the financial performance of The July and the progress we have made with the APG sustainability agenda. Yet, when managing our total portfolio, decisions have to be made and our exit from The July is one of them. We wish the company and Aware Super all the success on the next leg of the brand journey as The July looks to expand across major cities in Europe.”