Lowe Enterprises

Lowe Enterprises is a real estate investment firm based in 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 in 2013.

Corporate history
Lowe Enterprises was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1972 by Robert J. Lowe, Sr., and three business partners as a real estate investment and development firm. It developed or managed $6.7 billion in assets by 2000: $1 billion in hotels, $3 billion in new real estate development, and $2.7 billion in real estate investments. In the 1980s, the company branched out into "distressed properties", ones whose financial backers were having trouble meeting debt and operating payments. By 2009, the company had expanded into managing properties for wealthy investors and corporations, and its Lowe Enterprises Investors subsidiary had more than $4 billion in assets under management. Overall, Lowe Enterprises had about 7,000 employees nationwide that same year. Lowe's sons, Robert Lowe, Jr. and Michael Lowe, joined the firm and today hold high corporate positions in it.

The company suffered financially during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2012. It ceased payments on debt for its Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and for its Sheraton Hotel in Universal City, California.

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's said it would seek to purchase or invest in distressed or undervalued properties in the hotel, industrial, office, and retail sectors.

By 2012, Lowe Enterprises had developed or managed more than $17.5 billion in assets, and had more than 9,000 employees. The company also had 38 partners, employees who had risen through the ranks and become financial investors in the company. This was up from 32 partners in 2000.

As of November 2013, Lowe had developed or managed more than $21 billion in assets. Its Destination Hotels & Resorts division owned or operated 35 hotels, resorts and golf clubs, which made it the third largest hospitality management company in the country.

Corporate structure
Lowe Enterprises operates in the hotel, industrial, office, residential, and retail real estate sectors. It has four divisions: The Real Estate Group, Lowe Enterprises Investors, the Hospitality Group, and Distressed Asset Services. The Hospitality Group consists of two subsidiaries, Destination Hotels & Resorts (a hotel and resort management company), and Lowe Destination Development (which constructs, or invests in the construction of, luxury resorts).

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 trusts, other real estate development companies, and institutional investors such as hedge funds and pension funds. 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.

As a privately held company, Lowe Enterprises does not report its revenues or profits. However, in 2000, Robert J. Lowe, Sr. told the Baltimore Sun 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.

Key leadership
In 1999, Bleecker P. Seaman III was promoted from vice president and chief financial officer of Destination Hotels & Resorts to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Lowe Enterprises Investors. Seaman was promoted in 2010 to co-CEO of Lowe Enterprises Investors. Brad Howe also serves as co-CEO.

John B. Platt III stepped down as CEO of the Hospitality Group in 2008. He was replaced by Robert J. Lowe, Jr.