A proposal to acquire, develop and operate five hospitality and residential assets within four kilometres of each other in La Barra — held through separate asset companies under a single fund vehicle, developed by Estudio Local, and operated as one platform.
A single hotel is exposed to that curve. A resident population, a rental pool, a wellness floor, a gym and a working community are not.
Shared management, one reservations system, one brand and one distribution channel move stabilised gross operating profit from roughly 29.6 % to 38 % on a comparable property — USD 103,495 a year on a 20-key building. Across five assets it is the difference between five small businesses and one platform.
| Source | Annual at maturity | Accrues to |
|---|---|---|
| Residences association fees — 63 lots | 835,200 | Operating company |
| Naming royalty — 2 % of each lot sale | ~225,000 | Brand owner |
| Harmonia commercial space — 370 m² let | 112,200 | Fund |
| Playa members' floor and restaurant tenancy | 92,800 | Fund |
| Recurring, non-seasonal, to the fund | 205,000 |
The association fee is earned by Sonido Hotel for services actually delivered to lot owners, and the 2 % is a royalty for use of the name. Neither is fund income. The fund's return from the resident population is indirect and larger: residents are the off-season demand that fills the two operating businesses the fund does own, and a working neighbourhood is what makes the later lot tiers saleable at all.
| Asset | Padrón | Area | Price | Per ha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonido Hotel | 20321 · 20322 | 10 ha | 2.80M | 280K |
| Dama de la Noche | Rural 20330 | 5 ha | 15.00M | 3.00M |
| Sonido Residences | 2023–2028 | 27 ha | 11.00M | 407K |
| Sonido Playa | 12131 · Mz. 22 | 541 m² | 1.60M | — |
| Harmonia | 74 · Mz. 7 | 2,576 m² | 0.80M | — |
| Total | 42.4 ha | 31.20M |
Subdivision land at USD 407,000 per hectare against a corridor comparable of USD 400,000–600,000 — the bottom of the range. The lagoon estate at USD 3.0M per hectare against USD 2.5–4.5M — mid-range. Neither entry depends on the corridor continuing to appreciate.
Zone 1.4.2 does not permit apartment typologies. As of right the site supports four dwellings on 1,288 m². The optional hotel regime lifts buildable area to 1,932 m² — a 50 % increase — and enables a third storey, which is what makes twenty condominium units possible. It carries a ten-year commitment to hotel use.
The 4–5★ bonus to 2,318 m² requires a reasoned administrative resolution and is treated as margin, not as a right. The business is modelled on 1,932 m².
The optional hotel regime requires a 2,000 m² plot. At 541 m² this site does not qualify, and the hotel operates under established use rights predating the current framework. The building in place encloses roughly 875 m² against a 379 m² as-of-right ceiling — about 2.3 times what could be built new today.
That volume survives while the permit and operating-consent chain remains unbroken. Confirming it is a condition of completion.
Sequenced so each commitment is made after the evidence that prices it. Openings are spaced at least twelve months apart, because pre-opening capacity is the binding constraint.
Eight keys, a wine bar and a members' floor open twelve months ahead of the flagship. The team is hired and trained, service standards are tested and the distribution channel is built — at small scale and low consequence.
Every other price in the portfolio is measured against what the hotel achieves. The estate trades the same season and pays the Class A coupon. The first lot tier releases into a market that can finally see what the brand delivers.
The only position that liquidates inside the hold. Capital certificates redeem at 1.63× after 33 months and recycle into the final lot tiers. Sonido continues operating the building for ten years.
| Class A principal recovered from lot proceeds | 9,300,000 | 2030 |
| Harmonia certificates redeemed | 3,900,000 | 2033 |
| Hotel bank and construction facilities | 7,800,000 | 2026–27 |
| Deferred purchase consideration, capped | 16,700,000 | 2028–34 |
| Class | Asset company | Capital | Pref | Residual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — Income | Estate + Residences land | 10.6M | 9 % | 10 % |
| B — Growth | Residences | 3.5M | 6 % | 40 % |
| C — Brand | Ilazek 48 % + Playa | 7.3M | 6 % | 35 % |
| D — Short duration | Harmonia certificates | 2.4M recycled | 12 % | 50 % |
| Total external equity | 21.4M | |||
Principal amortises from lot proceeds and clears at roughly 17 % of lot sales. Holders then choose: take principal at about 1.50×, or roll — the preferred continues to 2036 at 9 % and the capital redeploys into the middle lot tiers and Harmonia, for about 2.11×. Default is to roll.
| Tier | Lots | Monthly | Annual at sellout |
|---|---|---|---|
| A — Creative Village | 30 | 800 | 288,000 |
| B — Signature Landscape | 23 | 1,200 | 331,200 |
| C — Estate Ridge | 10 | 1,800 | 216,000 |
| Association income · to Sonido Hotel | 63 | 835,200 |
Housekeeping, concierge, grounds, rental management and access to the hotel's facilities are delivered by Sonido Hotel and paid for by lot owners. A further 2 % of each lot sale is a royalty for use of the name. Both are operator and brand income, not fund income — the fund's return from the lots is the sale proceeds.
Ilazek S.A. runs the hotel, the estate, the village hotel, the condominium rental pool and the residences association. Every operating fee in the ecosystem lands here — and roughly half of it comes back to the fund.
| Party | Share |
|---|---|
| Founders — Torres Dargis | 50.0 % |
| Fund Company — USD 3,800,000, Class C | 48.0 % |
| Operating advisors — four | 2.0 % |
| Total | 100 % |
A third-party operator charges a base fee on revenue and an incentive fee on profit, and every dollar of that margin leaves the fund permanently — while the management contract becomes an encumbrance at exit. Here the fund recaptures roughly USD 200,000 a year of fee margin and holds 48 % of a platform worth USD 29–35M.
| Source | To Ilazek | Fund's 48 % |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel operating profit | 2,100,000 | 1,008,000 |
| Association services — 63 lots | 209,000 | 100,000 |
| Naming royalty — 2 % of lot sales | 225,000 | 108,000 |
| Dama operating agreement | 100,000 | 48,000 |
| Playa operating agreement | 60,000 | 29,000 |
| Harmonia rental management, HOA, membership | 287,000 | 138,000 |
| Residences rental pool split | to be sized | — |
| Before the Residences rental pool | 2,982,000 | 1,431,000 |
At a 10–12× multiple that is USD 29–35M of enterprise value in Ilazek, of which the fund's share is USD 14–17M — before the residences rental pool, which may be the largest line of all and is shown unsized rather than estimated.
General manager · director of operations · revenue and reservations manager · director of sales and marketing · finance and controller · human resources and recruitment.
Front office · housekeeping supervision · maintenance and engineering · food and beverage management · spa and wellness · studio management.
Association manager · concierge desk · grounds and landscaping crew · rental-pool coordinator · owner relations.
None of this can be deferred to a good year. The test is not whether fees are paid — it is whether they are at market and cover cost plus a normal operating margin. Every fee is benchmarked against Uruguayan and regional comparables, charged on profit as well as turnover, capped where it would otherwise reward cost, and approved by the advisory committee with the sponsor recused.
Eighteen keys, a destination recording studio, spa and wellness on ten hectares. Permitted, financed and under construction, opening January 2028. Stabilised revenue USD 4.60M at a 43 % operating margin.
A seven-key private estate on five hectares beside the Arroyo Maldonado lagoon, with a 247 m² pool. An existing building — a remodel, not a construction project — which is why it is the first asset to produce cash.
Twenty-seven hectares between campo and playa, subdivided into 63 serviced lots across three tiers. Acquired at USD 407,000 per hectare and sold as an address.
An operating hotel on Calle Las Estrellas, the village's main address — eight keys, a wine bar, a members' floor and a rooftop. Owned freehold, operated by Torres Dargis under Sonido Hotel. Opens 2027, ahead of the flagship.
A twenty-unit condominium hotel with a wellness floor, gym, members' floor and street-level food and beverage. The fund subscribes capital certificates, the units sell, and the capital comes back in 33 months.
The twenty apartments are sold. The commercial space is not. Gym, wellness, members' floor, juice bar and store — 370 m² let, roughly USD 112,200 a year in perpetuity. The 200 m² members' floor is fund-owned and operated by Sonido rent-free, as the buyer pipeline for the Residences. Sonido operates the apartment rental programme for the owners at 30 % of rental net of HOA and utilities, paid by them rather than by the fund.
| Segment | Annual growth |
|---|---|
| Luxury beachfront — La Barra, José Ignacio | 10–12 % |
| General coastal — Punta del Este corridor | 6.9 % |
| Luxury coastal villas — 2026 projection | 7–11 % |
| Foreign share of luxury purchases | 75 % |
| Average luxury price per m², Sept 2025 | USD 4,000–10,000 |
Secondary sources, reproduced as published and not independently verified. They inform the entry decision. No appreciation is assumed in the return figures in this document.
Fé is the function that makes the ecosystem known, keeps it culturally legitimate and brings in money that is not investor capital. A budgeted operating function with named outputs — not a marketing line.
The January 2026 launch drew over 150 guests and produced eight press placements. Reported reach of 12.1 million is a media metric, not an outcome, and is presented as such.
Paying artists, commissioning work and running residencies costs money. It sits in the operating budget with a named owner and a figure. Culture that is unbudgeted is culture that gets cut in the first difficult year.
| Artists paid, and total artist compensation |
| Staff hired from Maldonado, as a share of headcount |
| Local supplier expenditure |
| Off-season room nights attributable to programming |
| Lots and units sold to buyers first contacted through Fé |
| Sponsorship and partnership income secured |
The last two connect the cultural programme to the investment case. Reach is reported but never counted as impact.
Design capability and cost control are covered. Delivering new construction as principal in Uruguay and opening a five-star hotel are separate competencies, and we are buying them rather than assuming them.