UK: US coliving operator has signed five London properties across a mix of coliving and BTR use classes.
Brian Lee, managing director of real estate at Common, said: “In the UK, there is a need for more housing options and we have seen that property owners are excited about getting creative about the ongoing housing crisis. Common has more than tripled its portfolio of units managed since the beginning of 2021 by innovating the BTR landscape in the US. We are perfectly positioned to use that same innovation and creativity in the UK and we are excited to expand both co-living and BTR in all markets. The UK is our highest-priority market, so we expect a majority of our earlier units opening in Europe to be in the UK.”
Lee says the typical Common user was a 30-year-old with an annual income of £52,800. Half its users are new to the city they have moved to and stay an average of 11.5 months. In the US Common operates around 7,000 units across 15 cities.
The news comes as The Collective, one of the biggest coliving operators in London with a large development pipeline is on the brink of administration.
Click here to watch an Urban Living webinar from June of this year, in which Brian Lee shares his thoughts on growing the brand in Europe.
