HomeExchange, a home-exchange platform present in 155 countries, announced on 15 September 2026 that Verlinvest, an international family-owned evergreen investment firm, has taken a stake in the company. The deal is designed to support the platform’s global growth, with priority given to North America and Western Europe. It also comes with a partial reshuffle of the group’s long-standing shareholder base.
Governance renewed, not disrupted
Ternel, the impact-investment arm of Capital Croissance and a HomeExchange shareholder since 2015, is renewing its commitment alongside the founders to support this new growth phase. ISAI, which came on board in 2021 and backed the group through its previous stage of development, is by contrast exiting its stake as part of this transaction.
Co-founders and co-CEOs Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Édouard Girard remain at the helm of the company, and both are increasing their personal stakes as part of the transaction. This continuity at the top comes after the group had already strengthened its executive committee at the end of 2025, with the appointments of Alice Lorenz as Chief Product Officer and Aurore Saint-Maurice as Chief Marketing Officer — two strategic appointments reported by La Tribune de l’Hôtellerie.
Three decades of growth on a model with no cash changing hands
Founded in 1992, HomeExchange was acquired in 2017 by Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Édouard Girard, who also co-founded GuestToGuest in 2011, the platform behind the GuestPoints system that allows exchanges without both households needing to be available at the same time. Between 2013 and 2023, the group acquired several home-exchange platforms, all of which were consolidated under the HomeExchange brand in 2019.
The model is built on reciprocity, with no financial transaction between members: each one lends their home and is hosted in turn in another member’s. The platform now lists more than 600,000 properties in 155 countries. In the past year alone, it enabled 2.3 million travellers to complete more than 11.8 million overnight stays. B Corp certified since 2022, the group employs more than 150 staff across France, Croatia, Spain and the United States.
“Home exchanging has moved from a niche idea to a proven way to travel, and HomeExchange has led that movement from the very beginning,” said Emmanuel Arnaud, co-CEO of HomeExchange. “This investment lets us grow it even further. Americans have shown that they’re ready to embrace new consumption models built on sharing rather than ownership. Verlinvest’s support gives us the resources and opportunity to accelerate our growth in the US and in Western Europe, allowing us to bring that experience to even more travellers while staying true to what has made HomeExchange successful.”
Verlinvest, a bet on shifting consumption habits
Founded in 1995 and with offices in Brussels, London, New York, Singapore and Mumbai, Verlinvest manages more than €2.5 billion in assets across three strategies — Venture, Growth and Platform — spanning everything from seed funding to building large-scale brands. Its portfolio includes Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely, Purplle, K1 Speed, Mutti, Who Gives A Crap and Insomnia Cookies, with Chewy, Sula and Vitaminwater among its past successes.
“HomeExchange combines everything we look for at Verlinvest, a unique and innovative product, exceptional loyalty, a market still in its early stages with immense long-term growth potential, and, finally, a remarkable team that shares our ambition to create an iconic global brand,” said Raphaël Thiolon, Managing Director at Verlinvest. “We believe HomeExchange can become one of the major ways people travel and experience hospitality, and we are proud to support Emmanuel and Charles-Edouard as they make that ambition a reality.”
A rollout structured around three priorities
HomeExchange is structuring its next growth phase around three areas. The first is user experience, with a new messaging system, a redesigned calendar and new filters, including the ability to spot at a glance which properties offer a housekeeping service. The second is differentiating the offer, through the strengthening of HomeExchange Collection, its selection of upmarket properties, and new features for pet owners.
The third area is growing the member community, already present in 155 countries, with the aim of consolidating the group’s leadership in its established markets. The United States and Western Europe remain the stated geographic priorities, backed by a dedicated team and local partnerships.
Ternel and ISAI, two takes on the same investment cycle
A shareholder since 2015, Ternel has chosen to renew its confidence at this new stage.
“We have been supporting HomeExchange since 2015, and today we are reinvesting with even greater conviction. This new chapter alongside Verlinvest illustrates our thesis as impact investors, to provide long-term support for business models that combine strong growth with real societal benefits,” says Mohamed Abdesslam, Managing Partner at Ternel. The fund, which has €200 million in assets under management and invests from seed to Series B, counts HomeExchange, Edflex, Certideal, Cosma and Strong by Form among its portfolio companies. Ternel is the early-stage impact-tech strategy of Capital Croissance, an independent private equity platform founded in 2012 with €1 billion in assets under management.
ISAI, for its part, is exiting the stake after five years of support. “When we invested in 2021, we were convinced that HomeExchange was laying the foundations for a new category of travel. Five years later, that intuition has come to fruition. We are proud to have supported this team throughout this journey,” said Aude Lapillonne, Partner, Pierre Martini, Managing Partner, and Christophe Poupinel, General Partner at ISAI Expansion. This strategy of the ISAI Gestion fund targets profitable, high-growth companies generating at least €10 million in revenue, alongside portfolio companies such as Theodo, Invoke and Vitalliance. ISAI manages a total of €1.1 billion across four investment strategies, from its offices in Paris and New York.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
HomeExchange secures investment from Verlinvest to scale global home swapping
Verlinvest, a family-backed evergreen investment firm managing over €2.5bn in assets, takes a stake in HomeExchange
The platform connects members in 155 countries, with 2.3 million travelers completing 11.8 million overnight stays over the past year
Ternel (Capital Croissance), a shareholder since 2015, renews its commitment; ISAI exits the stake it acquired in 2021
Co-CEOs Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Édouard Girard remain at the helm and increase their personal stakes
Growth priorities are set on North America and Western Europe, alongside the continued development of HomeExchange Collection
