Gravis Capital Management is planning to raise £300m (€349m) on the London Stock Exchange for a new company which will invest in shared living residential accommodation in the UK and Ireland.
The fund manager intends to launch an initial public offering (IPO) for GCP Co-Living REIT by issuing 300m shares at £1 each as it joins the London Stock Exchange next month.
The new investment company will mainly invest in independent co-living assets, both operational and under development, let to a diversified mix of residents, located in urban centres.
Gravis said the proceeds raised are expected to be fully invested immediately following IPO into a £425m portfolio of three prime London co-Living assets held under contractual exclusivity.
Nick Barker, director at Gravis and fund manager of GCP Co-Living REIT, said: “The co-living sub-sector of the residential market is attracting significant interest from real estate investors and specialists, as well as local government and planning agencies who see the potential of this housing model to address fundamental inequalities in the residential sector.
“We are seeing a generation which has enjoyed the benefits of purpose-built student accommodation now seeking those same benefits as they progress in their professional lives.”
Rollo Wright, CEO of Gravis, said: “At Gravis, we believe in providing investors with long-term, predictable income through projects that offer a human dimension and that will be needed for many years to come, forming part of the social and economic infrastructure.
“As a forerunner in the student accommodation sector, we have turned our attention to a new and innovative investment proposition – a co-living REIT – another first for the public markets in the UK.”
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