Happy Friday. This is the Shake 🤝 : The free newsletter that smoothly breaks the status quo the same way your city street lights are breaking into a jazzy purple glow.

Here’s what we've got for you this week:

• Say It Ain’t Soho 🏨 

• REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust Tennis 🎾 

• Weekly Giveaway 🎰 

MARKET RADAR

SAY IT AIN’T SOHO 🏨 

The infamous “you can’t sit with us” quote is a reasonable frame of reference for the exclusivity of any Soho house worldwide.

The atmosphere and lux social status of the clubs lure members from all different walks of life. A granted membership to Soho House tends to be an accolade of success. If you’ve never been to one… well, sucks to suck (jk, nobody likes $25 drinks).

Anyways, Soho House started life in a London building 27 years ago when a space above founder Nick Jones’ French restaurant opened up. The door to the three-story house was too small for a restaurant but just the right size for a private club.

Viola! The first members-only Soho House opened at 40 Greek Street in 1995, specifically catering to the creative types 🎨 that flocked to the city’s Soho neighborhood. Word traveled fast and the concept was an instant hit.

Jones then began expansion in the UK, adding the Babington House in Somerset, and eventually (eight years after its debut), Soho House landed in NYC and Americans began to drink the kool“cool”-aid.

Things got a bit out of control as the NYC house began to lose its touch. Classic NYC finance bros infiltrated the club and took away the creative and edgy roots that the brand thrives on.

They just didn’t have the willpower to stop wearing suits and ties to the house. Due to this lack of respect (and swag), Soho House culled the NYC list to kick out hundreds of these member types in order to get back to being “cool”.

Before diving into other houses, you’re probably wondering how membership works.

Notorious for its selective policy, a membership committee composed of club members get to decide who is and isn't granted to each house. Yup, you can say it’s pretty subjective… but that’s not always a bad thing!

Celebrities like Kim K, Brittany Spears, and even Kobe Bryant have been denied memberships to the club.

The Soho House website explains: “Unlike other members’ clubs, which often focus on wealth and status, we aim to assemble communities of members that have something in common: namely, a creative soul.”

Splendid…

To apply, you have to provide a headshot and be nominated by two current members plus pay an application fee while writing a short summary of your career.

So what kinda payment we talking?

Well, annual memberships cost $2,100 to join one single club and $3,200 to have global access. To keep things “hip”, members under 27 get a 50% discount until they turn 30. About 23% of members are under 27 years old.

Want to be a member at your local Soho House?

You’re going to be waiting a while: MCG reported the company’s overall waitlist exceeds 81,500 people — an all-time high. Members also seem to be happy once they are in, as the company’s retention rate is roughly 95%,

You would think membership fees are the main driver of revenue, but actually, it’s their restaurants that contribute the most to cash flow. Most are available to the public, giving them a ‘taste’ of what could be.

The expansion strategy has accelerated as Soho House now includes 40 Houses in 17 countries, with more openings in the UK, Europe, Asia, and Latin America on the horizon.

But sometimes with immense growth comes immense costs.

The company depended on an IPO to keep the party going and Soho House is pushing 30 and still isn’t profitable. Even with 200k members, it’s facing a large debt load of over $1.8 billion.

Much due to leasing prime real estate and costs associated with opening new houses. Soho House owns just two properties in the U.K. and one in the U.S., and has partial ownership in three other locations around the world.

If only they owned all that prime real estate 🤔 

OK - I’ma go back to filling out my application now. Catch you guys in this 81,000+ person line 👋 

REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust Tennis 🎾 

How in the world can someone who is a full-time (and successful) director of a real estate investment firm go on to become an extremely successful tennis player?

Matija Pecotić isn’t some guy who is just winning his tennis club’s championship, he is a 33-year-old who beat a former top-ten player in a match. Sorry, Jack Sock 🧦 .

Even World Number 1 ranked player, Novak Djokovic, was extremely excited to see his former training partner conquer such a feat by congratulating him on Instagram.

👆️ This just goes to show why real estate proves to be one of the most interesting industries for people to enter. Career earnings are typically why many people dive headfirst into the industry, along with the absolute freedom that the business (sometimes) allows for.

For Matija Pecotić, competing in his passion proved to be one of the best parts of being involved with real estate. He currently works at Wexford Real Estate Investors in Palm Beach, Florida. Plus, he's got an MBA from Harvard, and he's really "blowing up" on LinkedIn.

Pecotić plans to compete in about 25 tennis events this year while still continuing to work at the firm. And apparently, his bosses at Wexford Capital co-founders are on board with the plan. Guess you can call him an Ace!

That being said, it’s not insane to think that if anyone was going to end up with this story that it would be someone like Pecotić, who played tennis at Princeton during his undergrad and had job offers at hedge funds before entering the real estate business.

As Pecotić looks to the future, he will undoubtedly draw on his past successes to guide him. During his time at Wexford Real Estate Investors, he has helped the company grow into a leading real estate firm, managing over $1 billion in assets.

Pecotić also oversaw the development of several high-profile projects, including the award-winning 360 State Street in New Haven, Connecticut.

For context, the firm was founded in 1994 by Joseph Jacobs and Charles Davidson, who are both still actively involved in its operations. They have a reputation for being flexible and creative in their approach to real estate investing, often taking on complex projects that require specialized expertise.

Jacobs, who loves playing tennis himself, supports Pecotić’s ambitions and as long as he continues to prove himself day in and day out with his firm, I’m sure he’ll continue to be “served up” more freedom 🎾

WEEKLY GIVEAWAY 🎰 

Together With Closing Packs

To end each edition, we will be sending one lucky subscriber a special item!

This week’s item is a 3-piece Nordic Nestic Tray.

How do you win?

We are going to post a closed transaction with some high-level details and whoever can guess the right sale price, wins.

If nobody gets it right, the closest guess wins. If two people get it right (screw us right?!) we will hook you both up!

Check out our last winner 👇️ 

Let’s check out this week’s closing:

Located in Brooklyn, NY, this 2600 sqft 3-unit home boasts a private rooftop, ceiling windows for natural sunlight, and fresh timbs in the closet 🥾 

OK done deal! 🤝 If you enjoyed this week's edition, don’t be selfish — share The Shake with a friend!

^{DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.}