EXS Capital

Chairman and CEO Eric Solberg leads investment decisions from Singapore. He is supported by three Singapore-based Managing Directors — Roland Kyle, Cathy Huang, and Chris Tai — and COO/CTO Chris Kwan in Hong Kong. Senior Advisor Chikara Okada provides Japan-market input, reflecting the firm's multi-jurisdictional Asian footprint.

EXS defines Social Real Estate as operating businesses that integrate hospitality, technology, and property to serve clearly defined customer segments. Sectors include co-living, co-working, new hospitality concepts, fitness and wellness, and creative studios. The thesis is that by combining curated experiences, proprietary technology platforms, and specialized real estate fit-out, these businesses generate multiple revenue streams and increase underlying property yields.

Current investments flow through EPIC, a dedicated Singapore Variable Capital Company (VCC). The firm commits its own capital first and typically leads multiple investment rounds over time. The VCC structure gives investors the option to participate at the master fund level or on a project-by-project basis — a flexibility uncommon among small, concentrated real estate platforms in Asia.

EXS makes direct, sponsor-style investments into operating real estate businesses rather than committing to third-party funds. The firm deploys proprietary capital alongside external investors into platforms it helps build. Its track record includes concentrated commitments such as US$400 million into a Chinese developer during SARS and US$184 million into a Vietnamese luxury developer during the country's financial crisis.

EXS does not market a co-investment program alongside external GPs. It operates as a lead sponsor, putting its own balance sheet first and inviting limited partners into its own VCC structure. Founders of portfolio platforms benefit from less dilution because EXS invests in both operations and property, capturing enterprise value and real estate appreciation together.

The firm invests globally with a historical concentration in Asia. Track-record investments include a Chinese developer, a Vietnamese luxury real estate developer, and the Southeast Asia-focused hostel chain Mad Monkey. Current offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo support deal sourcing and asset management across the region, while a Cayman Islands presence provides offshore structuring capability.

EXS originally backed multiple real estate developers across Asia, moving into data-centre-related operating platforms before narrowing to Social Real Estate. The SARS-era China developer bet returned a 52% realized IRR and produced a US$4 billion Hong Kong IPO. The Vietnam luxury developer commitment, made during that country's financial crisis, returned roughly 4x for early investors. This pattern of concentrated, crisis-timed entry now anchors the firm's contrarian approach to hospitality, co-living, and wellness platforms.