The Vienna Stock Exchange has admitted to trading on the Vienna MTF segment the bond issued by Essence Corporate Company SA (ECC), a Luxembourg-based company wholly owned by entrepreneur Antonio Cafarelli. Trading began today, August 27, 2026, marking the company's debut on the capital markets. The bond, for a maximum value of €15,000,000, carries a fixed annual coupon of 9%, a nominal value of €100 per bond, and a maturity of August 27, 2031.

"The high-end hotel segment currently represents only a small share of the national accommodation offering, yet it generates a far more than proportional portion of the country's overall tourist spending," said Antonio Cafarelli, CEO   By ECC - In recent years, arrivals at five-star properties have grown at almost double the rate of the rest of the hotel sector, and forecasts for 2026 indicate a further increase in international arrivals in the luxury hospitality sector. The bond issue listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange allows us to accelerate the acquisition of new properties.

The timing reflects the growing momentum of Italian hospitality on the international stage: in 2025, the country recorded a record 160 million arrivals, with foreign travelers making up the majority of the total, and international visitor flows continued to grow in the first half of 2026. Italy currently boasts the highest hotel occupancy rate in Europe, surpassing both Spain and France; in particular, the luxury hotel segment is expanding faster than the industry as a whole, a trend that underpins ECC's acquisition strategy.

Cafarelli built the first phase of his career working at some of the most prestigious Italian tourist villages, before founding his first company in 1993. Over time, he introduced a managerial and industrial structure in the world of tourist entertainment and animation, co-founding the "Peter Pan Entertainment" brand, now part of Surgentis SpA Soc. Benefit, and supporting the management, training, and recruitment of hotel staff through the "Servipan Training" training platform.

As CEO of Essence Hotels, Cafarelli expanded his scope from hotel outsourcing to full-service hotel management, based on an "experiential hospitality" model. The group currently operates six hotels: Essence Favignana, Essence Pantelleria, Essence Maremma Toscana, Essence Isola d'Elba, Essence Sicily, and Essence Zanzibar. New openings are planned in the Swiss Alps, the Italian Dolomites, Kenya, and Morocco.