![[Credit: Olympian Homes]](https://urbanliving.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/richard-simpson.jpg)
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUK: Led by accommodations pioneer Tim Butler, a new living platform has hired Richard Simpson to head its investment division.
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Third-party living sector operating company Colby River has appointed Jackie Robinson as managing director of Colby River Property Management.
![A rendering of Chords in Elephant and Castle [Credit: HUB Living]](https://urbanliving.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hub-elephant-park.jpg)
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: London Borough of Southwark has approved Chords, HUB Living’s 1.2-acre mixed use scheme in Elephant and Castle.
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: New data from coliving operator bamco shows a sharp distinction in seasonal coliving demand, with summer months accounting for an outsized move-in share.
Reading Time: 3 minutesUK/India: VerbaFlo, the conversational AI platform, has raised a $7 million seed round, led by Pi Labs, with participation from Haatch, Navigate Ventures, Old College Capital – the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund, and a group of global family offices, alongside follow-on commitments from anchor investors.
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Avalon Partners, a specialist living sector consultancy has launched to support developers, investors and operators.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUK: Pocket Living has launched a coliving rental concept called Together.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUK: The 195-room Mama Shelter London Shoreditch hotel has permanently closed, with coliving operator ARK rebranding the site.
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Coliving developer and operator Re:shape is looking for a joint venture partner to commit around £200 million of institutional equity to deliver four London coliving projects.
Reading Time: 2 minutesKKR has joined forces with Puma Property Finance in a new joint venture to provide up to £500 million in loans for UK living sector projects.
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