Lowe is a real estate investment firm based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Since its founding, the company has acquired, constructed, or managed more than $21 billion in real estate assets. Its subsidiary, Destination Hotels & Resorts, was the third largest hospitality management company in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2013.

History

Lowe was founded in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1972 by Robert J. Lowe, Sr. and three business partners as a diversified real estate investment, management, and development firm. Since its inception, it has developed, managed or acquired $32 billion in assets. In the early 1970s, Lowe formed Destination Hotels & Resorts to manage hotels and resorts it developed. In the 1980s, the company branched out into "distressed properties", ones whose financial backers were having trouble meeting debt and operating payments.Cohn, Meredith. "Lowe Enterprises Profits From Patience." ''Baltimore Sun.'' June 18, 2000. In 1990, the firm expanded into investment management, forming Lowe Enterprises Investment Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. As a

privately held company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

, Lowe Enterprises does not report its revenues or profits. However, in 2000, Robert J. Lowe, Sr. told the ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

'' that the company had "record earnings" in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Lowe also claimed that institutional investors tended to see a return of 20 percent to 25 percent in the 1990s. In 2002, the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) named Lowe Enterprises its Developer of the Year."Lowe Enterprises Wins Trade Group Accolade." ''Los Angeles Times.'' June 18, 2002. By 2009, the company had expanded into managing properties for wealthy investors and corporations, and its Lowe Enterprises Investors (formerly LEIM) subsidiary had more than $4 billion in assets under management.Vincent, Roger. "Terranea Resort's Main Lender Files Default Notice." ''Los Angeles Times.'' August 28, 2009. Overall, Lowe Enterprises had about 150 employees nationwide that same year. Lowe's sons, Robert Lowe, Jr. and Michael Lowe, joined the firm."NAIOP SoCal, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association." ''Los Angeles Business Journal.'' April 30, 2012, p. 32. Lowe debuted its 102-acre Terranea Resort at the site of the former MarineLand theme park in

Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on September 7, 1973, the city has a population of 42,287 as reported in the 2020 United States census. The city sits atop the bluffs o ...

on the Southern California Coast in 2009. The failure of Corus Bank, the construction lender for the resort, left Terranea in challenging financial condition for its first year of operation. Refinancing in 2010 put the resort on firm financial footing and it has become a popular destination for weddings and conferences along with vacationing guests. In July 2010, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America took a "substantial" but non-controlling interest in Lowe Enterprises Investors. The insurance company also agreed to provide Lowe Enterprises with $200 million for investment purposes. Lowe said it would seek to purchase or invest in distressed or undervalued properties in the hotel, industrial, office, and retail sectors.Murray, Barbra. "Guardian Life Gives Lowe Enterprises a $200M Shot in the Arm." ''Commercial Property Executive.'' July 8, 2010.
Accessed 2013-11-26. In 2018, Lowe sold its interest in Lowe Enterprises Investors to Guardian and LEI senior executives and LEI rebranded. Lowe continues its own investment activities with joint venture partners. In 2016, Destination Hotels merged with Commune Hotels & Resorts to form Two Roads Hospitality in partnership with GEOLO Capital, doubling the size of Lowe's hotel and resort portfolio. In late 2018, Lowe and its partner sold Two Roads Hospitality to Hyatt Hotels Corporation for more than $450 million. Lowe also sold its interest in Lowe Enterprises Investors to its partner, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

Corporate structure

Lowe Enterprises generates some funds of its own for real estate investment. However, most of its financing comes from a wide range of sources, such as government entities,

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

s, other real estate development companies, and institutional investors such as

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

s and

pension fund A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides pension, retirement income. The U.S. Government's Social Security Trust Fund, which oversees $2.57 trillion in assets, is the ...

s. The company prefers to rely on a wide range of financial sources to reduce risk. The company tends to invest in large projects with a view to retaining or managing the property in the long term.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe Enterprises Real estate companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles 1972 establishments in California Real estate companies established in 1972