Paul Oberschneider (born 16 August 1958) is an American-Estonian businessman,[1][2] investor, and property developer.[3][4][5] He is the chairman and CEO of Hilltop Credit Partners, a UK based real estate private equity firm providing finance to real estate developers. He is also known for founding real estate companies including
Ober-Haus Real Estate[6] and Hauser-Oberschneider in Central and Eastern Europe.[7][8][9]
Early life
Paul Oberschneider was born in the Midwestern town of
Roselle, Illinois in 1958.[10] He attended Culver Military Academy and graduated in 1976.[11] He graduated from
Loyola University in 1981.[12]
Business career
Oberschneider worked on the
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) starting in 1979 and later as a trader for
Steve Fosset in
New York, as a futures and equity options trader. Oberschneider then joined the investment team for
Shearson Lehman Brothers on
Wall Street in 1986.[10] In 1993, Oberschneider moved to
Tallinn, Estonia, where he began to build a real estate business throughout central and
Eastern Europe.[13] He founded Ober-Haus Real Estate and Hauser-Oberschneider in 1994, acting as Chairman for both companies.[14] Ober-Haus Real Estate Company grew to become one of Central Europe's largest real estate companies.[15] The company operated 33 offices across Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia. In 2004 Finland's Realia Group has announced that would purchase the Ober-Haus real estate company.[16] They bought the company in 2007.[17]
In 1999, Oberschneider founded Schlossle Hotel Group.[18][19] The company built a portfolio of four luxury 5-star boutique hotels and restaurants in Tallinn,
Riga, and
Kraków, before being sold to a Spanish hotel operator in 2006.[20][21]
Paul Oberschneider acted as Chairman for Hauser-Oberschneider until 2010, working with international property and private equity firms like Apollo,
Grainger PLC, Immo East,[22] and Citigroup Property Advisors.[23] The company pioneered the construction and financing of "western" styled residential apartments, retail hypermarkets and hotel properties across Central and Eastern Europe.[24]
In 2010, he invested in, and took the role as Chairman of London-based healthy fast food retailer,
Vital Ingredient.[25][26] He sold his stake in the business in 2016, as part of a management buyout deal involving private equity firm,
LDC.[12][27] In 2012, Paul Oberschneider purchased
The Manor Hotel in
Oxfordshire,[19] taking the asset out of administration from a UK bank.
In 2017, Oberschneider re-launched Hauser-Oberschneider as a real estate investment company that is an alternative debt provider and private client real estate advisor in the UK and European real estate sector.[28][29] It is regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority.[30]
In 2018, Oberschneider formed Hilltop Credit Partners, a joint venture with
Round Hill Capital to provide financing to real estate developers in England and Europe.[31][32]
Personal life
Paul Oberschneider played with his La Golondrina polo team that played in the Queens Cup and Gold Cup in the UK, as well as corresponding tournaments in Argentina.[12][33] In 2018 he was awarded the Estonian medal for his contributions to Estonia, and for starting the world-famous
Tallinn Christmas Market.[34][35][36] He is the author of the book, "Why Sell Tacos in Africa?" (2016)[12][37] and the "Fast Track Entrepreneur: Success leaves footprints" (2017).[38][39][40][41]