Ricardo Urgell (Barcelona, 1937) is a singular product of the Catalan bourgeoisie. Among his ancestors are artists such as his great-grandfather, the landscape painter and playwright Modest Urgell, or his grandfather, the impressionist painter Ricard Urgell. His father was an engineer for Ducati; he was supposed to follow in his footsteps but decided to become a beach boy. His first economic activity consisted of setting up a water skiing school in Sitges, where he spent his summers, and later a bar in what was known as carrer del Pecat. After selling that seminal bar, he decided to open his first Pacha in Sitges, in 1967, at the beginning of a career that turned him into a nightlife magnate. A straightforward character, who has not hesitated to publicly criticize Ibizan politicians and who doesn't particularly like electronic music, which he defines as "noise".
But it was the leap to Ibiza in 1973 that would turn the Pacha brand into a global benchmark in club culture, following the island's transformation into a factory of hedonistic experiences for its visitors. Urgell, who throughout his career opened more than 80 discotheques with the same name, including both owned and franchised establishments, finally decided to sell the brand when he accepted that his children were not sufficiently interested in continuing to lead the company.
After negotiating with Chinese capital for a sale price of around 500 million euros, it was a private equity fund founded by former Lehman Brothers executives, Trilantic Capital Partners, that acquired most of Pacha's ownership. The operation was advised by Cuatrecasas, and the asset and share purchase agreement amounted to 290 million euros, which include the operation of the Pachá Ibiza nightclub, the Destino Pacha Ibiza Resort, and the Lío Ibiza cabaret restaurant, in addition to magazine publishing, a merchandising line, and event organization. The acquisition was structured through the special purpose vehicle Sena Directorship, S.A. by Trilantic, a fund that also holds investments in other Spanish companies, such as Talgo and Euskaltel.
The sale of Pacha's assets has placed Ricardo Urgell in 169th position among Spain's wealthiest individuals, with a net worth of 270 million euros, according to El Mundo newspaper's annual ranking. Urgell still holds a position on the board of directors, and his vision continues to carry weight in the company's management. For half a century, the cherry brand has been a symbol of Ibiza's nightlife, today transformed into an immense business that has changed the island for better or worse, depending on who you ask. Pacha is now preparing to become a global brand through the exploitation of its different brands.
One of the first steps in the new trajectory has been the renovation of Pacha Ibiza, which this winter remained closed for the first time in its already extensive history. Architect Juli Capella was in charge of the intervention, designed and executed in just six months, which sought to remain faithful to the house's tradition.
A challenge that Capella faced thus: "At first I took on the project with the eagerness of every creator to leave their mark with singularity and brilliance. But I soon realized that Pacha was a jewel to preserve. A global icon that had influenced many other nightclubs. It was a venue conceived by its founder, Ricardo Urgell, who intuited how to create a special and magical atmosphere. That's why we immediately understood that the intervention had to be delicate, in the style of the Royal Academy of the Language, which invents nothing but "cleans, fixes, and gives splendor." That's why the starting concept was to change everything so that everything would remain the same, and above all not to spoil it: maintain its basic materials, its rough finishes, its light colors..."
In this way, the nightclub has been modernized although it is barely noticeable at first glance: "Since the nightclub had never closed since its inauguration in 1973, all renovations were done in a hurry between sessions. There were many additions, patches, provisional solutions, unevenness, and inconsistencies that demanded a thorough review. The space had to be adapted to current regulations, and above all, the facilities had to be renewed, a deep intervention that is not very visible but that customers will notice," Capella points out.
Another notable contribution of the reform has been the creation of a new area for the DJ, who now occupies a central space in the room. According to Capella, "this was an exciting topic. We have gone from disc jockeys, who were banished to a tiny booth far from the dance floor, to star DJs who occupy a central place. Now the booth has to accommodate the DJ, but also their friends, gogos, and VIPS. We have achieved a good size and a versatile space, which can change according to the preferences of the public, who will tend to be more participatory and experiential."
Pacha will never be finished, it is a living creature in constant transformation." Capella's collaboration also includes the design of the group's central offices, which will try to maintain the informal, creative, and uninhibited spirit that the brand conveys.
Capella quotes Josep Pla to remind us that often the most local is also the most international, and that modernity and cosmopolitanism can start from the vernacular. He also recalls Gaudí when he spoke of "being original is returning to the origin." And the origin of the Pacha legend is fiercely Ibizan, although on the Pitiusa island Pacha already competes with powerful rivals such as Ushuaïa, Amnesia (founded, by the way, by the philosopher Antonio Escohotado in 1976) or Hard Rock, each with its own peculiarities.
Pacha's expansion strategy, which currently employs more than 1,400 people in high season, has begun with the professionalization of the management of a family-owned company and its conversion to the financial standards required by a global company. A requirement to assault the global entertainment market, through the exploitation of its different brands, as confirmed by Pedro Martínez Vega, the group's new Chief Marketing Manager.
Although the company is reluctant to specify its future plans, a multitude of expansion projects are being studied worldwide. The hotel division, based on the model of El Hotel Pacha and Destino Ibiza, aims to replicate the model in different locations. According to Martínez Vega, "we do not want to be a standardized brand. Our intention is to adapt to each environment in which we operate. We want to arrive at a place, get to know it, and design an experience that makes sense in each context, without renouncing our values as a brand."
This applies to both nightclubs and hotels -which will try to sell an experience close to entertainment, such as W hotels or Standard hotels- or restaurants with dinner-shows, following the model of Lío Ibiza, which has elevated the concept of cabaret to a level of luxury and unique experience. Pacha and its sub-brands aim to compete internationally with names like Hakkasan or Tao.
Another challenge is to start growing the division of integral shows that are exported under the Pacha brand umbrella, and which will face, for example, competition from Elrow, a Barcelona-based company that has started a dazzling global expansion in recent years. The nightclub's franchise model will also be reviewed, until now based on a royalty collection model that allowed little control over the use of the brand and little participation in the business it generated.
"We are going to create differential experiences that go beyond the DJ. Hotels are also becoming hubs that offer experiences more than a bed to sleep in. The digitalization of the world has generated a counter-trend that consists of offering physical experiences. Pacha is a great reference in that field, and our future goes in the direction of studying the user experience and turning it into the product we offer. Our journey is from local to global, not the other way around," concludes Pedro Martínez Vega.
This is how the leap into the infinite begins for a brand whose famous two cherries promised an artificial paradise on an island still virgin and countercultural, and which now aspires to export the experience without giving up essences that try to survive in an Ibiza very different from that of 1973.