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Italy 
Greece 
17 December 2018 – Eje Prime
Corestate Capital is launching itself in the residential co-living market in conjunction with Medici Living. The Luxembourg-based fund manager has joined forces with the German provider of spaces to invest €200 million in the development of shared residences across Spain, according to explanations provided by sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime.
The plans of the two groups in Spain form part of an expansion target at the European level. In fact, over the next three to five years, Corestate and Medici Living are planning to invest €1 billion in the development and purchase of around thirty co-living properties, containing 6,000 rooms in total, located in Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Spain.
Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla are the cities that the joint venture has chosen for its debut in the Spanish market. In those regions, they forecast investment of between €20 million and €60 million. For the time being, the intention of the companies involves acquiring seven buildings in Spain, with 1,190 rooms in total.
Corestate is responsible for the investment, project development, financing and management of its assets. Meanwhile, Medici Living takes care of the design and operation of the properties, according to reports by the company, which already has a portfolio of 1,800 rooms and a presence in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
It is the largest operation undertaken to date in the European co-living market. In fact, it is a sector with a great deal of potential on the Old Continent, aimed at people looking for professional environments and collaborative lives, where they can share ideas and experiences. Currently, most of these assets are located in Anglo-Saxon countries and they are expected to become one of the alternatives for affordable living in large cities.
“The arrival of investment to the shared accommodation sector represents a great step forward for the European residential market”, said Gunther Schmidt, CEO at Medici Living, who stresses in a statement that, as a company, they have set themselves the objective of becoming the WeWork of co-living.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Corestate Capital, Michael Bütter, confirmed that “demand for shared residential spaces is increasingly motivated by the desire of young people to work and live in different cities and to do so in a community”. Moreover, according to the executive, “they are low-risk operations that generate great returns”.
In addition, with this agreement, the Luxembourg fund manager is diversifying its commitment in Spain after announcing its investment plan for student halls of residence next year. Corestate is planning to allocate €100 million to the construction of those types of assets and is currently searching for land in Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao, as revealed by Christopher Hütwohl, the head of the company in the country, speaking to Eje Prime.
Original story: Eje Prime (by Berta Seijo)
Translation: Carmel Drake