Cotown, the alternative to renting for digital nomads

The entry this year of the British fund Patron Capital into the shareholding of the Catalan real estate manager Vanguard Student Housing has been a boost for the Barcelona company which, after 15 years of experience in the student accommodation market, will focus its expansion on the coliving segment.

The changes respond to the growth plan that Patron Capital has in Spain, through its Barcelona-based investment arm Vandor Real Estate Socimi ---which is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, because "it gives us more flexibility than BME Growth"---. Specifically, it wants to invest 210 million euros until 2024 in the purchase of buildings that it will dedicate to coliving, boosting entry into cities such as Bilbao ---where it is already closing an operation before the summer--- and Madrid. In addition, it will continue to boost Barcelona and Valencia, where it has 12 and two properties, respectively, with a combined offer of 600 places. The company expects to reach 750 places by the end of this year.

Investors also contemplate for a second phase of expansion entry into Portugal, operating in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, according to Xavier Robert, operations director of Vandor Real Estate Socimi. "We are open to analyzing opportunities that arise in the market without predetermined geographical preferences, both in Spain and Portugal," he explains, adding that the accumulated investment in the last two years in Spain is around 70 million euros, and that the fundamental thing is the location and the quality of the renovation carried out in the buildings to adapt them to accommodation spaces with shared services.

But to expand the project, the first step was the reorganization of Vanguard Student Housing (VSH) business with the creation of the company Cotown, which will operate two brands: Cotown and VSH by Cotown.

The Cotown brand will be responsible for the management of coliving for a more adult type of client, "young professionals or digital nomads" who seek flexibility in residence contracts ---which they do not find in traditional rental---, very good locations in the city and quality in the product," says Vanesa Esteban, CEO of Cotown.

The company will have 750 accommodation places in student residences and coliving by the end of this year, in Spain

The seven remaining properties in Barcelona, for now, will continue to be used as student residences, under the VSH by Cotown brand, especially aimed at international university students and those from the rest of Spain or Catalonia, "who demand other types of services and proximity to universities." Currently, VHS by Cotown has 250 accommodation places available by the month in the Catalan capital.

The director of Cotown emphasizes that the proposal focuses on four fundamental aspects: location, community, comfort, and flexibility, providing those she already calls cotowners with all the elements to fully enjoy a temporary stay in a city. The coliving offer includes single or shared apartments, with cozy interior design and service equipment.

In addition, in some of the buildings, you can enjoy common areas with study or work spaces, a cinema room, or pleasant outdoor spaces, "designed for comfort, especially at a time when, with the rise of remote work or classes, we spend much more time at home," says Esteban. For this reason, the company has developed its own online management platform, "because 15 years of experience have provided us with the necessary background to know what the digital nomad professional wants: comfort, flexibility, efficiency in maintenance and management, quick resolution of unforeseen events, and information about the services and proposals offered by the neighborhood where they decide to live, and if it can be with discounts, even better." These are tasks to which Cotown's team of 12 people is dedicated.