Thank you HUB for inviting our co-founder, Jermaine Browne to share his thoughts in what proved to be an inspiring and thought-provoking 'Case for Coliving' panel discussion at UKREiiF It is great to see a new wave of institutional developers and investors, like HUB and Bridges Fund Management Ltd. who bring a wealth of experience from the Build To Rent sector, not only enter the Co-living space, but genuinely want to improve the product, customer experience, and ESG credentials. The future of Co-living in the UK is looking very promising indeed. #ukreiif #coliving #affordability #community #esg
'The case for co-living' was under the spotlight at our panel session this morning at UKREiiF, which was packed - and there was plenty to discuss. To kick-off, Simon Ringer of Bridges Fund Management Ltd., pointed out that there's investor appetite as "co-living isn’t particularly complicated and investors are looking to diversify, so there’s a huge opportunity for growth." There was a big focus on #community, with our MD Damien Sharkey commenting that, "second generation co-living is changing perceptions of the sector, while third generation is increasingly integrating community into schemes.". Yemi Aladerun pointed out that "to address criticisms levelled against co-living on a social level, we need to drive real community-building; enhance social capital by improving design; create opportunities for social interaction, and offer mixed price points for different demographics." Jermaine Browne mentioned that "it's important for local authorities to have a co-living policy and integrate discount market rent to maximise impact." And Yemi agreed that "we need to work with policymakers and industry to make alternative living models more widely accepted", and that "co-living’s potential lies in adaptability and inclusivity – future models need to include childcare, and be more intergenerational." The other big theme was #amenity, with Jermaine confirming that "less is more on amenities - unless you’re activating space, they’re often underused i.e. you need to bring in yoga instructors, not just create the studios." and that "opening the door to kids and teens is really important." Unsurprisingly, #ESG was also discussed, with Simon pointing out "if you are not top of the class when it comes to ESG, investors aren’t interested." As Jermaine said, "co-living is all about the shared economy - we’re always looking at consumption of goods and how it can be reduce, e.g. one hoover per floor." Damien concluded that "we need to continue to raise the bar in quality and educate investors and local authorities – looking for best practise worldwide, for example in Scandinavia, where they really consider resident experience, for amenity exemplars.". Thanks to Jessica Middleton-Pugh for ably managing the conversation, and to all who attended. That's a wrap for another UKREiiF
