Hong Kong-based co-living operator Dash Living has rebranded six apartments in Japan following last year’s M&A with local counterpart IntheHood, as consolidation in the sector continues across Asian cities.
Dash Living, which is backed by the likes of MindWorks Capital and Taronga Ventures, has also brought opportunistic returns to investors with exits from three assets which were operated by the merged entity, according to a company statement.
Instead of taking full ownership of residential properties, most co-living space operators sign long-term lease agreements or management contracts with asset owners to give properties a makeover, drive higher rent, and manage operational costs. Similarly, Dash Living calls its model “conversion, rental uplift, and cost optimisation”, a strategy which it attributed to the delivery of returns to its investors.
“With the help of the macro tailwinds across Japan’s property market and the support of our investors, the merger with IntheHood was a transformative step in our journey to empower living in a connected world across Asia Pacific,” said Aaron Lee, founder and CEO of Dash Living.
Dash Living recently signed two properties in Tokyo’s Kagurazaka and Ebisu which are set to open in August 2023, per the same announcement. Its operations in one of the region’s largest multifamily real estate markets is being led by Japan-based Joel Yu, formerly co-founder of IntheHood, who joined Dash Living as co-founder after the share-swap deal in July 2022.
The news comes around a month after post-merger changes were made to its industry peer Hmlet from Singapore, which was acquired by European co-living brand Habyt in 2022. Following a change in management, the merged platform announced last month that Hmlet will be rebranded as Habyt.
In 2020, Dash Living acquired Easycity, a Singaporean rental residential operator, to expand into the city-state and Asia Pacific region.
Business consolidation in the co-living sector is driven by players trying to reach economies of scale and staying competitive in a hypercompetitive market, real estate firm JLL said in a Singapore-focused report. As demand for co-living spaces increases, JLL expects to see more M&As for the sector as players look to expand their businesses and services.
Dash Living, which now has over 2,000 units in its Asia Pacific portfolio, last November announced an acquisition of a Hong Kong hotel in a joint venture with a global real estate asset manager, in collaboration with MindWorks’ affiliate MindWorks Properties. In March, the startup hosted the official opening of its flagship location in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, which it operates for a partnership of US real estate investor Hines and MindWorks.
It last raised over $8.8 million in Series A funding round in 2021 from Grosvenor Asia Pacific, Gobi Partners, Taronga Ventures, Clearmind Capital, and MindWorks.