A go-to investor for Michael Shvo wants to make one thing perfectly clear: It has nothing to do with whatever happened between the developer and Core Club.
Germany’s largest public pension group, Bayerische Versorgungskammer or BVK, disavowed any connection to Shvo’s actions described in a recent lawsuit by the exclusive club.
“We distance ourselves in every respect from the unlawful and dishonest business conduct alleged in the lawsuit,” BVK said in a statement this week.
Core Club owner Jennie Enterprise’s suit alleged that Shvo overpromised and underdelivered on developing high-profile club locations in New York City, San Francisco and Milan. It named BVK as a defendant, identifying it as a beneficial owner of the NYC location, 711 Fifth Avenue.
BVK said it is not an owner or manager of the properties, but rather jointly holds shares in a fund invested in them.
“BVK has no relationship with Michael Shvo, the Core Club or the managing director Jennie Enterprise with regard to the issues in dispute,” its statement said.
But Adam Glassman, the lawyer representing Core Club, did not buy it.
“We believe that ultimately, BVK was very much involved in the decision-making process,” he said.
A spokesperson for Shvo declined to comment.
Core Club’s lawsuit demanded Shvo and his partners reduce the club’s Manhattan rent, rescind its lease at Shvo’s Transamerica Pyramid and pay $600 million in damages. The lawsuit remains unanswered.
BVK has been an active buyer of trophy properties in cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, through alternative fund investment managers, or AFIMs. It has been tied to multiple projects with Shvo, including the 2020 deal to acquire the Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco for $650 million.
Deutsche Finance America said in a statement at that time that it acquired the office property with Shvo together with a group of European investors anchored by BVK. BVK and Deutsche Finance backed Shvo and Bilgili’s venture to purchase 711 Fifth Avenue in 2019 for $937 million. Core Club took up tenancy there in 2021.
Belinda Burgmeier, BVK’s spokesperson, told The Real Deal that its capital management company invested independently in a fund launched by a third-party AFIM.
“Deutsche Finance Group acts as the AIFM’s external asset manager and works … together with Michael Shvo on a project-related basis,” Burgmeier said in the statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month on challenges for the multibillion-dollar portfolio that Shvo acquired between 2018 and 2020, fueled in part by overseas investors. Business Insider published a similar story on the same day.