Embassy Group to venture into co-living business

While co-living still remains a largely fragmented market, start-ups like OYO, Nestaway and CoHo are operating in the emerging space. Official launch of the brand is planned by 2019-end with a flagship project in Bengaluru, followed by Pune.

Real estate firm Embassy Group has ventured into the co-living asset class under EPDPL Co-Living Pvt Ltd, to cater to the growing migrant millennial workforce and students, the company said on Monday.

Given the rising popularity, traditional builders are also exploring the concept and ready to try as an extension of their existing business. (Mint Photo)

Bengaluru-based Embassy Group is starting the new co-living business initiative with 20,000 beds to be built on its existing land portfolio and targets to reach over 100,000 owned and operated beds in the next five years.

The official launch of the brand is planned by 2019-end with a flagship project in Bengaluru, followed by Pune.

“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 expectations of the millennials who are looking for a community that feels like home,” said Aditya Virwani, COO, Embassy Group.

Virwani said there are over 35 million students in higher education and the migrant millennial workforce is growing at a rapid pace, offering an opportunity to cater to this increasing demand of co-living and create accommodation for them across the country.

While co-living still remains a largely fragmented market, start-ups like OYO, Nestaway and CoHo are operating in the emerging space.

Given the rising popularity, traditional builders like Puravankara Ltd are also exploring the concept and ready to try as an extension of their existing residential business and earn rental income.

“Embassy Co-Living will bring in the best global co-living practices equipped with elegant design, sustainable green initiatives, high security and a remarkable experience for all our members. Our co-living spaces will be designed keeping in mind the evolving preferences and needs of our target customer base,” said Kahraman Yigit, co-founder, Embassy Co-Living.

In addition to compliance with global health and safety standards, Embassy’s Co living is planned with high-end ultra-modern amenities, entertainment, learning and development that will provide an eco-system for our members, Yigit said.

Embassy ventured into building co-working spaces with We Co., the American firm which operates under the WeWork brand.

WeWork India posted robust revenue growth in India, Mint reported on 15 August.

Since its entry in 2016, WeWork India has been aggressively expanding its footprint. At present, the company has 23 co-working centres—nine each in Bengaluru and Mumbai, and another five in Gurugram—comprising 39,000 seats.