Fifth lyf property in Melbourne, Australia opened by Ascott

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Ascott Limited Ascott Limited, CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI) entirely-owned hotel business division, is buying its first co-living lyf-branded property located in Sydney, Australia.

The purchase of the freehold property is completed through ASRGF, the Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund (ASRGF) the private equity fund that is partnered with Qatar Investment Authority.

The fund is making its third investment in 2022 after the purchase from Somerset Hangzhou Bay Ningbo and Citadines Canal Amsterdam in March.

The most recent acquisition brings the total of properties that are part of the funds to eleven with approximately 2200 units.

The fund currently owns 5 operational properties, Ascott Sudirman Jakarta La Clef Champs Elysees Paris, Citadines Islington London, the lyf Funan Singapore and Quest NewQuay Docklands Melbourne.

As of now, the fund has made investments in 12 properties with a total value of close to $500 millions ($686.5 million). According Ascott Ascott the fund has sold its first property with returns that were higher than the expected underwriting.

lyf Bondi Junction Sydney
The brand new co-living property comprises 197 units. The name will be Lyf Bondi Junction Sydney, and it is expected to be start operations in 2024. The brand new property is situated in Sydney’s largest business district, the fifth, Bondi Junction, is designed to cater to the accommodation requirements of young professionals who are on the move who travel for business or leisure within Sydney’s city.

The property is located just a few minutes into Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD) in addition to being just a seven-minute drive from the famous Bondi Beach.

Alongside the purchase of the lyf Bondi Junction Sydney, Ascott has opened its very first Lyf property located in Melbourne, Australia.

The 105-unit Lyf Collingwood Melbourne is just a two-minute walk of the city’s Smith Street, and is situated just 10 minutes away by tram from the CBD of the city. CBD.

Kevin Goh, CLI’s CEO for lodging, says, “As a vertically-integrated global lodging business with a strong foothold in Asia, Ascott is able to leverage our full suite of real estate investment and management capabilities to add another quality asset to ASRGF’s portfolio”.

“lyf has proved to be not just a well-known, but durable brand. One-north Singapore which is which is owned by Ascott Residence Trust, has an impressive occupancy rate of 90% since it opened on November 20, 2021. Lyf Funan Singapore, which is controlled by ASRGF it opened in 2019 and has an impressive occupancy rate of more than 90% and is higher than its competitors despite Covid-19.” He says.

Additionally, Goh says Ascott is poised to “raise the bar” for co-living in Australia as it expands its lyf brand across the country.

“We continue to identify appealing opportunities to expand the lyf brand via our private funds as well as the Ascott Residence Trust as well as through management contracts,” he continues.

“Tapping our extensive deal-sourcing capabilities and our extensive network of business partners We were able to get this lucrative off-market deal,” says Mak Hoe Kit Ascott’s managing director of the lodging sector of private equity as well as director for business development.

“lyf Bondi Junction Sydney is an exceptional purpose-built asset located in an area that is highly sought-after for both tourism and business. We anticipate this co-living property to succeed because Sydney is a thriving startup scene and is among one of the best gateway cities worldwide. The majority of ASRGF’s investments are off-market and come from our global presence as well as solid business development teams in the field,” he adds.

“This coupled with our knowledge of the entire value chain of asset and investment fund management, as in award-winning lodging operations allows us to generate profits from divestments that are higher than expectations for underwriting. As the final deployment of ASRGF is nearing we are continuing to search for similar capital partners who are willing to invest in co-living and serviced-residence opportunities that have proved to be durable.”