Enso Co-living raises 1.7 million to continue its expansion in Spain

When asked about the difference between coliving and traditional flat-sharing, the CEO of Enso Co-living, Michael Erd, turns to Friends to explain what they offer. "You never see them cook or clean, you only see the good stuff," he says. The Barcelona-based startup covers all household chores, including cleaning, laundry, maintenance, and food, but also ensures that flatmates get along and don't become tenants to avoid. Additionally, it offers flexible contracts, with a one-month deposit and a minimum stay of three months. The price per room, with flats always located in privileged and well-furnished areas, ranges from 650 euros per month to 1,200.

"We want to facilitate the way people live in cities. When you arrive in a big capital and try to find a place to live, it's very complicated and you have to face many expenses. What we do is clean up the impurities," says Erd. The CEO emphasizes that coliving also allows for the creation of a legal framework that protects tenants, establishing rules that a third party controls.

The startup was created in Barcelona in 2019, with three co-founders from Madrid who had ended up in the Catalan capital living together in a coliving. Specifically, in a flat owned by Harrison Ford in Diagonal with Roger de Llúria, where there were five other people. The coliving was also the first office, which later moved, like the founders, to Pasaje de Permanyer. Now, Michael Erd, Clara Sterling, and José Miguel Calle still live in coliving, but separately: "We spent too many hours together."

Enso Co-living has just closed its second round for 1.7 million euros, with the participation of GVC Gaesco, RKS Real Estate, and Dozen Investments. The first round was for 723,000 euros and was formalized at the beginning of 2021. They also finance themselves with debt, with a liability of 500,000 euros.

The funding obtained this time will serve to consolidate its position in the Spanish market and grow in rooms, with the goal of reaching a total of 800 by the end of the year. Currently, the company has more than 300 rooms. Most are in Barcelona, with 250, concentrated in areas such as Eixample, Vila Olímpica, Born, and Gràcia. They are also present in Madrid, with 80 rooms, and are opening in Valencia, starting with 20 rooms. Next month they plan to reach Malaga.

With an average stay of between six and eight months, "we don't want people who come on vacation, but to live in the city," their portfolio is fundamentally based on very large apartments, where they can create common areas and offer rooms to various tenants. In Barcelona, they have an exceptional case offering an entire building.

The company began to register profits in September of last year, but does not communicate the figure with which it closed the year. In 2022, turnover stood at two million euros. For this 2023, they expect revenues of between six and eight million euros. The staff, with offices in the old coliving of Pasaje de Permanyer, is almost 20 workers.