Drew Aaron is one of the new breed of Mallorca businesspeople who have moved to the island and invested heavily. His business interests on the island range from Lionsgate Capital to a whole string of art galleries in the Gallery RED range. His companies have expanded greatly over the last five years not just in Mallorca but on the mainland.
What brought you to Mallorca
“My wife and I decided to move to Mallorca to raise our children here in the nature, away from the urban life and fast pace of New York City. We discovered Mallorca years ago and fell in love with the island and everything it has to offer. We were very impressed with the schools, doctors, gastronomy and overall lifestyle that Mallorca has to offer. We had just sold our family business to Konica Minolta and this was my opportunity to finally slow down and enjoy the good life with my family.”
You are now one of the most successful businesspeople on the island; what is your secret of success?
“When deciding to relocate to Mallorca full-time, I stepped back and took a look from a macro point of view what was missing on the island and to the best of my ability find niche markets that did not currently exist. The real estate market was booming and continues to be one of the most successful markets around the world, but there was no finance or mortgage brokerage company, which to me created a huge opportunity to bring a full service, professional and international financing firm to the island. I met Juanita Casanas, former Director of Banco Santander, and we decided to create Lionsgate Capital together, with a team of ex-bankers and mortgage experts that understand how clients purchasing properties can optimise their real estate investment in Mallorca via financing. The Lionsgate Capital team speak all of the major languages and work at a very fast pace. We are now the largest financing company in the Balearic Islands and southern Spain, representing the top 30 banks throughout the country, and top international private banks throughout Europe, along with funds and private investors. We are the number one option for property buyers to obtain the best mortgage. We partner with all of the top real estate agents, lawyers and tax advisors to provide each client with the right financing option for their particular case. After launching Lionsgate Capital in 2016, being an art lover, and exploring all of the amazing galleries located throughout the island and mainland Spain, one thing became clearly apparent. There was no gallery where you could purchase artworks by the most famous established artists from €1,000 for a print to €10 million for a work on canvas, or anywhere in between. It was not possible to purchase a work by an artist such as Warhol, Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Gerhart Richter, Jeff Koons or Keith Haring in Spain. To me, this created an opportunity to launch a gallery that offered works by these most in-demand artists to those living in and travelling to Mallorca. After officially opening the first Gallery RED space in 2018, we realised that no one gets off a plane in the Balearics and wants to buy a Basquiat, they want to go to the beach, the great restaurants, the cathedral and so on… So we decided to evolve and include the top emerging artists, both local and around the world, to have a wider offering in Gallery RED.”
What is the state of the art world at the moment?
“The art world is dynamic and continually evolving. Having ventured into the art industry for the first time with Gallery RED (previously an art collector for 20 years, but never as a Gallerist), I must admit it has been a very humbling experience, learning from my own mistakes with a substantial learning curve on my end. While challenges existed, especially in understanding the nuances of operating a gallery, we have gained great momentum, and despite the obstacles presented with opening right into the COVID-19 period, we've still managed to expand to 18 official Gallery RED spaces in Spain, 12 open to the public and an additional 6 by appointment only. We are the largest art gallery in the Balearic Islands and one of the largest in Spain. The art market has never been stronger, both locally and internationally, with many people delving into this world, collecting for the love of art and an additional component of alternative investment. The major auction houses, such as Christie’s, Sothebys, and Philips saw billions of dollars in sales revenues just in the month of November last year! The world has woken up and realised that investing in stocks, bonds and real estate, along with other conventional investments, makes great sense, but adding a small portion of your portfolio to include art and other luxury goods can have even greater appreciation in value. The art market outperformed every major stock index over the past few years. Luxury goods, such as Rolex, Hermes and Chanel also saw unprecedented rise in value, which led to our next launch, Rouge Mallorca by Gallery Red. An exclusive high-end boutique in the centre of Gallery RED Square focusing on the finest new guaranteed authentic products from the top iconic brands. Gallery RED also has a Concept Shop that has something for everyone from lifestyle, art, travel books, cool accessories such as vintage luxury sunglasses, to the most collectible woman’s handbags, watches, accessories and Nike special edition sneakers that you can’t buy elsewhere in Spain.”
What plans have you got for Mallorca?
“After finishing curating the new primary VIP lounge for Palma airport, we are continuing to examine strategic opportunities of where we can best place our represented artists for the the best exposure. We will continue curating the art programme for the St. Regis Hotel in 2024 along with a solo show with the Belmond La Residencia this June in Deià, the art for the private airport lounge at Mallorcair, together with Engel & Völkers, Stork’s new flagship showroom in Palma and many ultra luxury villas with our partner developers including APM, Domus Vivendi, BGL and PH Mallorca etc, who collaborate with the Lionsgate Capital group of companies for art, luxury goods and financing.
“As a founding member of the Mallorca Design District we will do a full new installation throughout the 1000 metre space, The Circle in Santa Ponsa. In addition, we will host a solo show in Madrid starring our artist Rubén Martín de Lucas during the major annual art week in Spain in March at the Urvanity Art Fair. In addition, we have a completely booked calendar of solo and group shows, starting with our first show by the artist Viani opening this Friday night at Gallery Red Square followed by an array of different shows and art experiences scheduled throughout 2024 and into 2025.”
How do you see the property market evolving in Mallorca?
“Each year the market questions when the real estate bubble will burst, but the market has continued to rise in value throughout the island year-after-year, especially in the luxury segment. Come COVID-19, in early to mid 2020, when the global pandemic reached Spain, everyone expected the market to finally flatten out or decline and it did just the opposite.
“People around the world found themselves trapped living in flats in major cities, realising they could work from anywhere in the world with a laptop or smartphone, and after this traumatising experience, decided they wanted to live somewhere in nature. Mallorca’s success during COVID ultimately led to doubling in the value of real estate in the high-end luxury sector in many regions throughout the island especially central Mallorca, where people would have a peaceful place to live in case there was another global pandemic. The data that people can access via reading the news or researching on the internet proves Mallorca and the Balearic Islands to be one of the safest places to live full time.
“Other things about Mallorca specifically began to surface and therefore it no longer became just a popular vacation destination with 310 days of guaranteed sunshine. The world began to focus on the incredible gastronomy, culture, beaches, caves, hiking, biking and mountains in conjunction with incredible infrastructure with the top hospitals, local and national police, incredibly low crime rate as well as diversity of population and opportunities in the boating and yachting world amongst many others.”
Do you think more Americans will be following in your footsteps?
“While Mallorca can present certain challenges for new business, its unique offerings and the appeal of tranquility will for sure attract more Americans, especially those seeking alternative lifestyles after experiencing global events, discerning US political affairs, massive gun control issues and school shootings, and overall lack of stability. However, we won’t see a huge influx of Americans relocating to Mallorca overnight. There are several barriers that one must accomplish to just decide to pick up and cross the pond and move to Spain. Examples of this would be many American businessmen and women have companies with employees and infrastructure from offices to factories, and cannot just abandon them especially working on a six hour time difference. Many have family and it’s not easy to just pick up and leave. I think it will be a natural progression, like we have seen over the past year with Americans starting to come for a nice vacation at a hotel, followed by continuous visits, potentially renting a house and eventually buying a second home or vacation home in Mallorca.
“The direct flights from United have definitely helped and additionally flights announced from other airlines will surely follow. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and it’s not just the Americans. In the past couple years, we have seen the Australians, South Africans, Dutch and French join the Scandinavians, British, Germans and Swiss investing in properties throughout Mallorca, which has been great for the island as it continues to add diversity, bringing new great people to this special island.”
What do you like most about Mallorca?
“I enjoy everything Mallorca has to offer including exploring different parts of the island, enjoying the gastronomy, spending time with friends and family, going on long hikes along the coast, making our own olive oil, meeting new like-minded people. I love the villages and local markets, the ancient architecture, the beautiful nature and the never-ending charm you continue to discover in every corner of the island.”
Is it easy establishing a business on the island?
“Personally, I have found that it can be more challenging opening a business in Mallorca than New York City or America. Richard Branson recently said when opening Son Bunyola, his first hotel on the island, that it took one year to put a man on the moon, and more than 20 years to open a hotel in Mallorca. I don’t think a wiser entrepreneur could say it any better. Doing anything in Mallorca at least initially can seem a little difficult. When creating a new venture in a different environment a lot of it is about making sure you are surrounded by the right team and the right advisors. There is tremendous opportunity in Mallorca for businesspeople, and I feel very lucky to have a great team, along with mentors and advisors on the island who have guided us in the right direction.”
Have you any regrets?
“No regrets. We got quite lucky in the sense that we took a big leap of faith in moving to Mallorca and everything has just naturally fallen into place. While doing our research we discovered the town of Alaro which has quickly become home and where our primary residence on the island is, we absolutely love it there.
“The centre of the island is filled with nature and the surrounding towns of Santa Maria, Binnisalem, Consell, Bunyola and others are all thriving. There is a great community and we are grateful to have a diverse group of friends with good vibes, including people from the local Mallorquins to an eclectic community from all around the world and all walks of life.
“We instantly fell in love with a fantastic International school with a British curriculum in Marratxi, and our 3 kids are extremely happy there. We love our doctors, local markets and have made many amazing friends and neighbors. I wake up every day with a beautiful view of the Tramuntana mountains and palm trees drinking my coffee and realising how lucky we are to be surrounded by paradise. For us giving back is extremely important and we are dedicated supporters of the Mallorca Preservation Foundation.
“I am an active member of their Steering Committee and the foundation, through its amazing work, strives to protect the island in every sense and promote sustainability.”
Would you call Mallorca home?
“Mallorca has become our home. The decision to move here was driven by a desire for a better quality of life for our family and to slow down, and over the years, the island has truly become a place where we have established our roots. I will always be a proud American and am beyond grateful for my time living in the states, naturally enjoying returning to visit family and friends, but home is where your heart is and my heart is here in Mallorca!”