Embassy Group enters co-living segment, to invest USD 500 mn in three yrs

Realty firm Embassy Group on Monday announced its foray into co-living segment with a planned investment of USD 500 million (over Rs 3,500 crore) over the next three years to expand this business across major cities.

The Bengaluru-based company is present in co-working segment and operate WeWork business in India and now has set up a new company 'EPDPL Co-Living' to enter this new business, which will cater to the need of working professionals and students.

"Embassy Group is starting this new co-living business initiative with 20,000 beds to be built on its existing land portfolio and targets to reach over 1,00,000 owned and operated beds in the next five years," the company said.

When contacted, Embassy group COO Aditya Virwani said: "We entered into co-working segment and now co-living as they are complementary to our core business which is development of housing and commercial projects".

"Embassy's concept of co-living aims to uplift the standard of living by offering quality hospitality services to this segment. Our co-living spaces have been thoughtfully crafted to exceed the expectations of the millennials who are looking for a community that feels like home," he said.

There are over 35 million students in higher education and, migrant millennial workforce is growing at a rapid pace.

Asked about investment earmarked for co-living, he said: "We plan to invest USD 500 million over the next 2-3 years in this business".

The company would bring co-living centres on its own land bank as well as partner with other landlords, Virwani added.

To begin with, the company will launch two centres in Bengaluru and Pune with capacity of 800 beds each, he said.

The company will target students from colleges and working professionals employed with multinational companies in organised Grade A business parks across major cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Chennai.

Kahraman Yigit, Co-Founder, Embassy Co-Living said, The globalised workforce and students today are constantly on the move and look for accommodation that is easy to access and hassle-free."