Cette lettre demande à l’Abu Dhabi Investment Authority de préciser si une diligence culturelle ou des garanties particulières ont été prévues concernant les sites naturistes historiques contrôlés par SocNat SA au sein d’European Camping Group, notamment le Centre Hélio-Marin de Montalivet, La Genèse et Le Clapotis.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
211 Corniche, PO Box 3600,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
For attention of: Private Equities / Private Equity Department
Re: European Camping Group & SocNat SA
Dear Sir or Madam,
We write concerning Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s reported acquisition - through a wholly owned subsidiary - of a significant minority stake in European Camping Group, when PAI Partners remained majority shareholder. European Camping Group presents itself online as if a leading European outdoor-accommodation platform. However, part of it includes SocNat SA which controls three historic naturist sites in France: Centre Hélio-Marin, La Genèse and Le Clapotis.
These sites might not be understood merely as interchangeable “outdoor hospitality assets.” They are part of a living cultural tradition embedded in land, bodies, law, memory, tourism, municipal responsibility and European social history. Centre Hélio-Marin de Montalivet, for example, is not merely a commercial resort: it is a historically important naturist place, associated with development of international naturism and France’s distinctive position as a leading global destination for tourism.
PAI Partners & ADIA may have acquired influence over something they do not understand.
Relevant risks are not simply financial; but cultural, reputational, political, municipal and historical. European naturism was historically vulnerable to moralising state power, authoritarian cultural control and legal misclassification. For that reason, any transfer of influence over historically important naturist sites between large financial investors requires explicit safeguards.
One .com group of limited-liability legal entities in which ADIA reportedly holds an indirect minority interest:
presents historic bungalows as embodying an “original and historical spirit” of a naturist place; and,
promotes mobile homes, premium accommodation and standardised outdoor-hospitality products.
This contradiction raises a question: is naturist culture being protected and renewed, or merely used as inherited branding while the underlying culture is hollowed out?
We therefore ask ADIA to clarify its position on the following matters:
Whether ADIA’s due diligence before investing in European Camping Group identified SocNat SA, CHM Montalivet, La Genèse, Le Clapotis, or any other traditionally naturist sites as culturally sensitive assets.
Whether ADIA, PAI Partners, European Camping Group, or SocNat SA has adopted any formal policy for protecting, preserving and promoting naturist culture at sites under ECG control.
Whether ADIA regards the naturist identity of these sites as an asset to be protected, a commercial liability to be managed, or an immaterial local characteristic.
Whether ECG or SocNat SA intend to maintain CHM Montalivet, La Genèse and Le Clapotis as genuinely naturist sites over the long term.
Whether ADIA recognises that failure to protect these sites could create reputational risk for ADIA, PAI Partners, ECG, SocNat SA and French public authorities involved in leasehold or regulatory oversight.
These issues are sensitive because naturism is not merely a private leisure preference in France; it is also part of tourism economies, social histories and public-interest cultural landscapes. Control of historically naturist sites without credible safeguards may become liabilities within the ECG portfolio.
We would be grateful if ADIA could provide a written response explaining:
what cultural due diligence was undertaken in relation to ECG’s naturist sites;
what safeguards exist to protect their naturist character;
whether ADIA may ask ECG and SocNat SA to publish a policy on naturist cultural preservation.
We look forward to your response.