Augusta and Overlord bring their investors together for their fourth annual meeting, focused on the new economics of security
On 5 October, Augusta and Overlord held their fourth annual investor event, a gathering that brought together partners, collaborators, friends and family. The day was an opportunity to review how both projects are progressing and the transactions under way, and it closed with a panel discussion on the new economics of security and how geostrategy is reshaping innovation, industry and investment. The guest was Pablo Casado, co-founder of Hyperion Fund and European chairman of the Japanese technology company Datasection.
Augusta: helping SMEs become the best version of themselves
Augusta was founded in 2020 in the belief that Spanish companies, and Aragonese companies in particular, had untapped potential. Its purpose is to help SMEs become the best version of themselves, as Ignacio Balet recalled in his welcome: “we don’t just bring capital; we bring experience, our services, commitment and our entire network of contacts”. Augusta looks for companies in three sectors: industrial, services and technology.
“We don’t just bring capital; we bring experience, our services, commitment and our entire network of contacts.”
Overlord: three years, five vehicles
Overlord, for its part, started out in 2023 as an idea and three years later has become the leading alternative real estate investment platform in Aragon, with the trust of more than 50 partners and more than 150 million euros invested. It comprises five vehicles: three Flex Living projects —Madrid Río, Valdemarín and Vicálvaro— and two of retail premises in prime locations, all of them co-invested with M70.
Overlord remains committed to launching one value-add vehicle every year in the markets it knows best, Aragon and Madrid, and is currently working on three transactions, with at least one expected to close before the end of the year. This growth is also reflected in the three new websites presented at the meeting, including an area exclusively for investor partners that will become the main channel for investor information.
From efficiency to resilience
The panel discussion revolved around one underlying idea: the paradigm has changed. Globalisation built on cost efficiency has given way to a period in which security, strategic autonomy and business continuity carry the weight. Europe has seen the extent of its external dependencies in manufacturing, energy and defence, and that diagnosis is no longer read as temporary. For companies, the goal shifts from optimising cost to securing resilience: reviewing critical dependencies, diversifying suppliers and relying on technology and artificial intelligence to keep operating when conditions tighten.
Dual-use technology
The second thread of the debate was the dual use of technology. Much of the innovation that today emerges from security and defence ends up finding its way into civilian sectors —connectivity, sensors, materials, cybersecurity, logistics or health—, so that its impact goes beyond the military sphere and reaches the real economy. For investors, this makes for unusual ground: sustained demand that is less tied to the cycle, a high technology component and high barriers to entry.
With this fourth edition, Augusta and Overlord reaffirm their ambition to make the meeting a leading annual event for investment in alternative assets in Aragon.