London-based co-living company Gravity has raised $1.4 million to expand its model internationally.
Founded in 2017, Gravity’s co-living model is based on “community, flexibility and personal growth” and is targeted towards millennials seeking experiences and convenience.
The company currently has three properties across London, including two in Camden and one in Finsbury Park.
With the new funds, Gravity plans to expand internationally in early 2021, with a pipeline of new buildings that will see capacity double within the next two months. It is currently working on projects with strategic real estate partners in London, Paris and Barcelona.
Despite changes in the travel and rental landscape brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gravity says it has experienced a period of high growth spurred by lockdown loneliness.
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The company doubled its headcount and opened two new buildings during lockdown in the United Kingdom.
“We're currently in a new era of co-living. People are done with the ‘hustle harder’ culture, and the pandemic has meant that people have realized there’s more to life than just work,” says Gravity co-founder and CEO Riccardo Tessaro.
“We are currently witnessing increased interest in co-living from the public. I think we can expect to see a co-living boom and a wave of renters moving towards a product that adds value to their lives. We’re seeing the needs of the entire workforce changing and the renting market needs to reflect this.”
Indeed, long-term and flexible stays have increased amid the coronavirus outbreak. As Airbnb advisor Chip Conley has said, “digital nomads have gone mainstream.”
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky last week predicted that “a new type of business travel will emerge” from the pandemic.
“It’s what I would call a hub and spoke model, where people work remotely but every quarter they go back to their HQ for a couple of weeks.”