Jeffrey Epstein, Lord Peter Mandelson & a German finance guy called Lars Windhorst

Media portrayals of Gaza Board member (and Aroundtown SA Deputy Chairman to the Advisory Board) Yakir Gabay have often emphasized a self-made rise in European real estate. However, a closer examination of the financial underpinnings of his early expansion suggests a more complex picture, one in which Lord Mandelsons employer, German financier Lars Windhorst and his investment network played a pivotal role in financing and accelerating an opaque structure in the German real estate sector.

Windhorst founded Sapinda Holding B.V. in 2009 as the parent of the Sapinda Group, later rebranded as Tennor in 2019. The firm focused on special-situations investing, private equity, loans, and distressed assets, including real estate. This platform would become a key source of capital at a critical moment in Gabay’s trajectory, particularly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when distressed opportunities were abundant.

Although Gabay had begun building his business as early as 2004, it was in 2012 that external capital significantly altered the scale of his operations. Sapinda, acting through Windhorst, provided early-stage growth capital to Gabay’s Grand City Properties SA (GCP) during a crucial expansion phase around its public listing. At its peak, Sapinda reportedly held a 5–10% stake and helped facilitate additional financing. German media described this backing as “kapitalkräftiger Unterstützung,” or powerful capital support, underscoring its importance of their relationship in enabling rapid growth.

Beyond equity investment, Sapinda and its affiliates, including Anoa Capital, arranged and participated in convertible bonds and other debt financing for both GCP and Aroundtown. These financial mechanisms allowed Gabay’s ventures to expand aggressively during the post-crisis recovery period. As GCP’s valuation rose from approximately €150 million at listing to several billion euros, Windhorst is reported to have personally realized profits exceeding €250 million. While not the original source of Gabay’s founding capital, Sapinda’s involvement represented a decisive layer of growth capital that accelerated both GCP and the broader Aroundtown ecosystem.

The relationship between Gabay and Windhorst extended beyond a single transaction. The two are long-term business acquaintances, maintaining a relationship that blended collaboration with elements of competition in the European real estate market. Windhorst speaks positively of Gabay, expressing respect despite overlapping business interests, and is said to have introduced him to financial networks and trading circles that further supported expansion.

Reporting by Manager Magazin indicates that while Gabay originated the core real estate strategy focused on acquiring, renovating, and consolidating commercial property portfolios in Germany, Windhorst played a central role in raising the necessary capital through bonds and capital increases (https://www.manager-magazin.de/magazin/artikel/lars-windhorst-das-comeback-eines-hasardeurs-a-1087466.html). Their collaboration contributed to the growth of major European real estate companies, including Aroundtown SA and TLG Immobilien, with Windhorst-linked entities at times holding significant stakes and generating more than €400 million in liquidity through transactions. Corporate disclosures further note that links between Sapinda (later Tennor) and Aroundtown stem from overlapping investment networks and figures such as Gabay (https://www.webdisclosure.com/article/aroundtown-sa-etr-aroundtown-sa-completes-12-billion-perpetual-buyback-bgnL0C4QBVt).

At the same time, Windhorst’s broader financial history has been marked by a series of high-profile legal and regulatory challenges. Most recently in January 2026, the London High Court awarded summary judgment against him personally for approximately USD 519 million in a case brought by ADS Securities LLC, citing unpaid debt which rattled Windhorsts supporters and sent panic amongst those close to him. The following month, a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Southern District of New York by IStar Capital Ltd. sought enforcement of a €6.5 million bond-related dispute linked to a prior agreement involving Wild Bunch bonds. Earlier proceedings in the UK between 2023 and 2024 included a €150 million worldwide freezing order, a contempt of court finding for failure to attend a hearing, and enforcement actions tied to disputes involving H2O Asset Management and other settlements. In May 2023, the Dutch regulator AFM imposed a €500,000 fine, reduced from €5 million, for breaches of shareholding notification obligations. Lars needed capital and friends at a time his closest confidants were themselves struggling.

Separate disclosures from U.S. Department of Justice Epstein files add another dimension to Windhorst’s network. In August 2013, Peter Mandelson contacted Jeffrey Epstein asking, “All well? Have you ever come across a German finance guy called Lars Windhorst?”. (https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00966296.pdf). By 2015, Mandelson had joined the advisory board of Sapinda Holding B.V., as noted in documents stating, “Lord Peter Mandelson has joined the advisory board of Sapinda Holding B.V. this week”, and continued to seek meetings between Epstein, Windhorst and associates (https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/56035935; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01744877.pdf). In June 2018, another Epstein intermediary and Mandelson associate Mark Lloyd, wrote to Epstein proposing an introduction to Windhorst, describing him as a “young German entrepreneur” and offering to arrange a meeting (https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02552250.pdf).

Media narratives that focus solely on Mandelson or Windhorst in isolation ignore their ‘network’, which included Gabay’s independent rise risk overlooking the central role that Sapinda-backed funding played in shaping the trajectory of his wealth and how government advisors close to Epstein helped smooth the way for those involved in fraud, breach of trust and embezzlement to operate in plain sight.