Belgium: LifeX has announced substantial expansion with a new entrance into the Belgian market and two new partnerships.
LifeX, a Danish coliving start-up, currently operates 70 coliving properties with its family concept across Europe, and the company will continue to grow with the Belgian expansion and other upcoming projects.
LifeX has forged a partnership with Candor, a property development company based in Belgium. Candor typically focuses on residential and hotel properties, so the work of the two companies align. With this new partnership secured, moving into the Belgian market seemed like a natural step for LifeX, which opened its first property in Brussels in late April.
Director of asset management and development at Candor, Jan Vlaminck said: “At Candor we look constantly at how we can add value to our developments and make them come alive. We believe in a positive attitude and passion for our business, that’s where we encounter LifeX. We are looking forward to welcoming LifeX members to our Brussels co-living spaces.”
Additionally, LifeX has created a property deal with one of Denmark’s leading pension funds through a real estate subsidiary. This deal will lead to a new Copenhagen property that will be LifeX’s largest property thus far. LifeX will be substantially involved in the development of this property, helping to create a space that fully fits its specifications for co-living and sustainability. This will be a years-long project and LifeX’s first property purpose build.
LifeX’s CEO, Sune Theodorsen, said: “We’ve been focusing hard on developing our concept and our scaling strategy, so we’re excited about these opportunities. LifeX has grown a lot in the past four years, and these partnerships represent a new chapter for us that will increase our growth and help us meet the increasing demand for co-living.”
LifeX is able to take such substantial growth steps thanks to its most recent funding round, which raised €6 million from Founders, a start-up studio, and Vækstfonden, an investment fund. These funds have allowed LifeX to expand its market presence and innovate.
The entry into the Belgian market is the company’s first new market entry since the pandemic began, and LifeX will continue to expand in the future. Despite difficult times in the pandemic, surveys have shown that the co-living environment that LifeX offers was actually beneficial to its members. In a survey by its team, LifeX found that 90% of its members said that co-living aided the challenges of lockdown.
LifeX will continue to grow and also further develop its current partnerships, such as its partnership with the Danish company Kereby, a subsidiary of Blackstone. Through this partnership, LifeX is set to open three more properties this summer.
Theodorsen said: “The Corona pandemic has provided significant amounts of data, sparking difficult conversations about topics like loneliness, the importance of community, and sustainability. We have seen our community come together in a meaningful way over the past year. Though there have been challenges, everything I’ve seen from our team and our members has strengthened my belief in the concept of coliving.
