CoLive raises Rs12 crore from SAR Group and others

Founded in 2016, CoLive offers branded and serviced homes that are conveniently located near educational institutions and major business hubs.

Bengaluru: CoLive, a start-up that offers shared living spaces, has raised Rs12 crore in a new funding round led by the private investment arm of SAR Group Family Office, which owns early stage venture capital fund Ncubate Capital Partners, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

With the fresh round of funding, the company plans to expand its presence to 25 cities in India, ramp up its technology infrastructure, and hire fresh talent. Currently, CoLive operates 75 properties in Bengaluru, with 3,000 beds in its inventory.

The latest round takes the total funding to around Rs18crore, the company said.

Founded in 2016, CoLive offers branded and serviced homes that are conveniently located near educational institutions and major business hubs. All spaces are fully furnished and priced between Rs5,000 and Rs8,000 per person depending on the size of the apartment building.

The company claims that it charges an all-inclusive bill which includes rent, maintenance, electricity, Wi-Fi, gas, and cable TV. Property owners in metro cities like Bengaluru charge 6 to 12 months’ rent as security deposit. CoLive charges only two months’ rent as security deposit from tenants, which makes it attractive to college students and the millennial workforce.

According to Suresh Rangarajan, chief executive officer, CoLive, the company is largely targeting urban areas which have high a density of students, young professionals, and young couples. “(They) can thereby enjoy better living conditions without having to face discrimination from landlords,” he said.

A recent report by property consulting firm JLL revealed that there is a shortage of properties in the student housing market—approximately 6 million beds. This shortage is likely to reach 10 million in the next three years due to increased migration of students for higher education and professionals for employment, said Rangarajan.

“This is the market that we are targeting, and hope to accomplish servicing a million homes across 25 cities over the next decade. To reach this goal, CoLive has begun its first phase of expansion by venturing into cities like Vellore and Coimbatore. It aims to reach other locations including Trichy, Thanjavur, Madurai and Amaravathi in the next quarter… With a strong pipeline of inventory, we are firmly on track to reach our 10,000 beds target in the next couple of quarters,” Rangarajan added.

CoLive competes with other accommodation aggregators like Nestaway, which raised $50 million from Ratan Tata’s UC-RNT fund in December 2017. Other names include Zocalo, Homers, and Homigo. Last year, the segment saw a new entrant named Stanza Living, which was backed by Matrix Partners. Similar to CoLive, Stanza Living also targets students and young professionals.