Just in November last year, Singapore’s largest co-living startup Hmlet raised US$6.5 million in its Series A funding round, which the firm said they would use to scale their business model throughout Asia.
At the time, Hmlet had apartments in Singapore and Hong Kong, catering to young working professionals who seek affordable, flexible, and community-centric places to live and work.
Its lead investor, Sequoia India, has confidence that co-living is well-suited for urban and “vertically developed” cities in Asia, especially with Hmlet’s model of taking over and refurbishing entire buildings—rather than standalone units—into modern shared living spaces.
Since the funding round, Hmlet says they’ve “doubled [their] original number of co-living members”.
Today (26 February 2019), the startup revealed that it has chosen to go a stone’s throw beyond Asia with its third location, bringing its co-living concept into Australia.
Its debut in the Australian market is set for March 2019, with the launch of two properties in the inner-city suburbs, Newtown and Marrickville, in Sydney.
The two new buildings will be able to accommodate a total of 90 members. Hmlet @ Marrickville, the larger of the two, was recently completed in January, encompassing 2,400 square metres of leasable area, to act as its cornerstone property for expansion in Sydney.
Just like its existing spaces, the Sydney properties will feature fully furnished and serviced rooms, co-working areas, communal lounges, kitchens, and terraces, at flexible leases with a 30 day notice period.
To foster “meaningful interactions” among residents in a bid to revive community, Hmlet also provides community benefits like social events, workshops, and discounts.
In its press release, the firm cites Australia’s popularity as the top third destination for international students and young professionals as a reason for their decision. “Millennials currently account for 29% of Australia’s population and are set to be 50% of the workforce by 2020,” Hmlet says.
CEO and Co-founder Yoan Kamalski also added, “With the growing demand for more flexible, community-based options of living in urban cities such as Sydney, Australia felt like the next natural move for [Hmlet].”
Hmlet’s properties in Newtown and Marrickville are the beginning of a planned series of new co-living spaces to be launched in Sydney over the next few months, which will later follow with expansion into Melbourne and Brisbane.
This sets Hmlet on track to reach 2,400 members across the Asia Pacific by the end of 2019.
Featured Image Credit: Hmlet Singapore
