Co-living firm Hmlet raises S$40m; opens 150-room Tg Pagar facility

Singapore

SINGAPORE-BASED co-living company Hmlet has raised US$40 million in a Series B round, which will allow it to continue growing across gateway cities in Asia, it said in a media statement on Tuesday.

The round was led by Burda Principal Investments, with participation from existing investor Sequoia India and new investors Mitsubishi Estate Co, Reinventure Group and angel investors.

The funds will boost Hmlet's growth in its existing Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney markets, while plans for launches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Tokyo are also in the pipeline.

It has also launched its 150-room property in the Tanjong Pagar, Cantonment Downtown CBD precinct, which it had signed for in April.

The rooms will operate as serviced apartment units, with the property being Hmlet's largest co-living building to date.

The company was founded in 2016, and had raised US$6.5 million in a Series A round in November 2018 and a US$1.5 million seed round in 2017.

To date, the flexible housing solutions provider manages over 1,500 rooms and is looking to "build a network that spans across 10 cities in five countries within the next two years", it said.

"When we launched Hmlet, we wanted to create a better way of living for an increasingly mobile workforce, who want a sense of home and community in whichever country they choose to live in," said Yoan Kamalski, chief executive officer of Hmlet.

"We've seen our philosophy and operational model resonate with the market, which has allowed us to secure our Series B funding less than 12 months after our Series A round."

Besides Hmlet, Burda Principal Investments also counts Singapore- based fashion e-commerce platform Zilingo and Malaysian car-selling platform Carsome as other regional Series B stage companies in which they have invested.

Burda opened in Singapore in 2017, and is the growth capital arm of Hubert Burda Media, an international tech and media company headquartered in Germany.

"We believe Hmlet is creating a product that addresses the changing lifestyle needs of today's young working professional, which we are seeing globally," said Albert Shyy, principal of Burda Principal Investments.

"We have been very impressed with their ability to grow quickly while working closely with building owners and landlords, and are excited to support them on their next phase of growth."