The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Timbercreek Capital recently launched a Southern Europe Serviced Apartment Fund that buys apartment buildings, renovates them to five-star standards, then rents to tourists, business travellers and "digital nomads" who choose to work from exotic locations. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that the fund plans to acquire apartments in upscale neighbourhoods in Lisbon, Madrid and Malaga. It has already bought nine properties, using contributions from institutional investors. The fund is being marketed to wealthy individuals and expects to raise at least $55-million. Acquiring an entire building for short-term rentals helps deal with municipal concerns over Airbnb's impact on city centres, Timbercreek claims. Timbercreek will rent units through a platform called Postcode, a rival to Airbnb focused on high-end apartments. This week, the Spanish government ordered Airbnb to withdraw more than 65,000 listings for holiday rentals. Spain's Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy said the move was meant to end "illegality" in the holiday rental business, which he said contributed to the housing crisis in the country. Spain and Portugal experienced record tourism last year.