A UK-based co-living pioneer has acquired development sites in the US and Germany as it seeks to grow globally.

The Collective, a company backed by UK and international financial institutions and family offices, said it has raised more than $400m ((€323m) to date.

The funds have been used to acquire sites, develop new projects and build a platform.

”With 4,500 co-living homes now operational or under development in the UK, US and Germany, The Collective is involved in advanced negotiations to secure an additional 5,500 homes in these countries,” it said. 

The company said it has already secured two sites in the US and specific cities will be revealed in due course.

The Collective said by using a similar growth approach to its UK developments, it also aims to catalyse the co-living markets in other European cities, starting with two new sites in Germany which will also be announced in the coming weeks.

The Collective opened the world’s largest co-living building in west London’s Old Oak in 2016 with 550 homes. Two further London sites have been announced and are under development.

Reza Merchant, the founder and CEO of The Collective, said: “We believe co-living is the future of housing and we are excited to be rolling out our innovative model to key global cities, with a particular focus on the UK, US and Germany initially.

“Co-living is a new and important response to an increasingly fundamental problem. Our cities have not been able to keep pace with increasing population levels, growth in employment and a marked rise in single occupancy households.”