Hospitality specialist Pro-invest Group will launch its debut co-living platform in March as it expands into the residential sector, PERE has learned.
Pro-invest Co-living will look to own and operate a portfolio of 2,000 apartments in Australia in its first phase, with a long-term target of scaling the platform to the size of its current hotel business, according to a statement. With A$3 billion ($1.97 billion; €1.82 billion) in assets under management, the Sydney-based firm manages 32 hotels across major markets in Australia.
Currently, Pro-invest is in discussion with both international and domestic investors to raise capital for the co-living platform’s upcoming investments.
The target return for the firm’s co-living investments is in line with the value-add strategy for its hospitality platform. Pro-invest Co-living will focus on converting existing hospitality assets into co-living properties, sourcing underperforming hotel assets that can be repositioned by its in-house development team. Its hotel management team will then maximize yield from asset planning. The firm has already identified the first seed asset and it is actively working on a pipeline of acquisitions. It will also consider new-build opportunities.
“We see real opportunity in converting existing hospitality assets into co-living properties because these assets will yield sooner – and that’s what investors are looking for right now in this space,” Sabine Schaffer, managing partner at Pro-invest Group, told PERE.
The co-living properties will be located in central business districts and suburban locations in Australia where tenants are looking for smaller, self-contained studios and one-bedroom apartments with access to high-quality facilities, amenities and services. These properties will also offer short-term serviced apartment options and longer-term rental leases.
While the co-living platform will initially target investments in Australia, the firm will consider expanding the platform into Asia in future given the team’s extensive pan-Asia experience.
Ronald Stephen Barrott, chairman of Pro-invest Group, said in the statement the firm’s new strategy “redefines” what ‘home’ means in the modern era. “We recognize that the growing number of renters today desire convenience, quality, and the hotel-like amenities and services that have long been associated with hospitality,” he said.
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