A consortium led by proptech company CurveBlock and backed by a former Premier League star and a serial entrepreneur has agreed a deal to acquire a site to develop a holiday homes park in Cornwall.
Investor Paul Massey and former Leeds United and Liverpool FC footballer Dominic Matteo have acquired the Valleybrook Holidays site at Peakswater, near Looe, through its Matteo Curveblock partnership.
Massey recently exited Adler & Allan when it was acquired by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, 18 months after his own business, Aqua Consultants, had become part of the environmental risk reduction group. Massey is now the chief executive officer of Ohana Mua Holidays and will operate the Peakswater site once it is complete.
Ohana Mua is poised to revolutionise the UK staycation and retreats market by creating energy-positive, AI-optimised parks, all connected through seamless Web3 and blockchain technology. They will build an experienced executive team, acquire five parks, and launch a proof of concept at the first site.
The consortium's first site is a £9m redevelopment project to create 24 highly energy-efficient holiday lodges, which will see 10 properties already on the site be refurbished.
Massey said: “This is an important first deal for us as we look to grow our partnership and develop sites across the country. The appetite for sustainable developments means there is an opportunity to be a leader in this sector as well as creating great places where people want to visit and stay.”
Construction will be carried out by Northallerton-headquartered business, Rasico.
Curveblock’s managing director, Matthew Couch, said: "The site is quite unusual for a holiday site in the UK in that it already has extant planning permission and permission for 12 months’ occupancy rights. The site can be delivered in full now that Paul has backed the land acquisition, and we will be moving forward with the scheme. We are also looking at the bigger picture as we see this opening up opportunities for more of these types of ventures in the future."
CurveBlock was set up by Gary Woodhead, Joey Jones and Matthew Couch in 2018 and aims to pioneer financial inclusion within the real estate investment sector.
It is working towards entry into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Digital Security Sandbox, which will allow firms to test innovative propositions in the market with real consumers. CurveBlock has been working with regulators to change existing rules and open the doors to enable consumers to invest in real estate.
Former Premier League footballer Dominic Matteo added: “I’m really excited about the potential for the Peakswater site and the opportunities in the pipeline to take Curveblock’s approach and for this team to deliver something special.”
