UK co-living pioneer The Collective has agreed a new £140 mln (€167 mln) discretionary financing package from Deutsche Bank and GCP Asset Backed Income Fund.
The transaction follows Deutsche Bank’s backing of The Collective’s management buyout in 2018 of the 75% that it did not already own of The Collective Old Oak, in London, the world’s largest purpose-built “co-living” building at the time.
The Collective’s new four year group level financing package comprises a new £120 mln term loan and a £20 mln revolving tranche with commitments of £87 mln from Deutsche Bank and the immediate recommitment of £53 mln from GCP Asset Backed Income Fund following repayment of its previous term loan to The Collective as part of the transaction.
The Collective will use the new discretionary financing package to acquire additional development sites, with a particular focus on the U.K., Germany, Ireland and the U.S., as it continues to expand globally. Following the agreement with Deutsche Bank, The Collective will have raised over £1 bn of investment, increasing its capital available for new acquisitions and delivery of its current development pipeline.
The Collective currently owns and operates the world’s leading co-living business, with over 9,000 units operating or under development across the globe, and a pipeline of sites with the potential for 20,000 further units under consideration as it works towards a goal of having a 100,000 unit global portfolio over the next 5-10 years.
Jai Madhvani, Chief Financial Officer of The Collective, said: 'Building on our 10 year track record of creating, delivering and operating co-living spaces across London and, more recently, in the U.S. and Germany, this loan allows us to further accelerate our expansion plans internationally. Securing such a significant discretionary financing package from a renowned global institution as Deutsche Bank, and the renewed commitment from the team at Gravis Capital, are also a further indication of the increasing acceptance of co-living as an institutional asset class and of The Collective’s model and track record in the sector.'