Gravity Co, the UK-based co-living & PRS brand focused on personal and professional growth whose core USPs include flexibility, hassle-free and experience-led living closes 2022 as its most successful year to date following further growth in multiple areas of the business.
A month into 2022, the company began the year strong with the signing of its fifth property, Gravity Royal Heights in Reading – in the heart of one of the UK’s most thriving tech hubs. Referred to as the UK’s Silicon Valley, this historic market town has become a mecca for technology and is home to some of the world’s largest tech brands including Oracle, Visa and Huawei.
This new co-living property launched in Spring and is in the town’s most sought-after postcode (RG1). Gravity Royal Heights is home to 53 homes – a mix of studio, one and two-bedroom apartments. The scheme achieved 100% occupancy in under 8 weeks.
Gravity Royal Heights not only grew the brand’s portfolio, but also its community which has now climbed to 500+ members – including post-graduate students, young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. Gravity Co’s flexible, all-inclusive, community-focused offering has continued to see a surge in demand throughout 2022, with a 300% YoY increase in the number of direct applications received.
With five properties and a thriving community, Gravity Co has created strong brand awareness in the UK and in June, it secured the ‘Operator of the Year’ award at the 2022 international Coliving Awards.
The Gravity Co team are also already pursuing international expansion opportunities. In September, the company successfully closed its series A, raising over £5m to expand its portfolio internationally, setting it sights firmly on mainland Europe.
“2022 has been an incredible year for Gravity Co. We’ve almost doubled the member base and ARR and the brand has gained international recognition. Strong interest from institutional real estate investors paired with favourable market conditions for the rental market, underpinned by high interest rates, inflation and demographic trends, are the perfect ingredients for Gravity Co to kick off its international expansion strategy in 2023.”
Riccardo Tessaro, Co-Founder and CEO, Gravity Co
The amount of investor interest towards the living sectors has rapidly increased, with record numbers being broken in terms of capital being deployed. This surge in attention continues to support Gravity Co with their agile expansion plans and strategy; teaming up with some of the best-in-class PRS & co-living investors to build a strong brand, supported by its experienced team delivering exceptional operations and returns for stakeholders.
2022 also saw the strengthening of Gravity Co’s core management team. Marta Sauri and Tom Whitley joined the real estate team as Head of Spain/France and Head of UK Expansion respectively, and Dale Schuss joined the operations team headed by Rob Birch, bringing over 30 years of property and facility management experience to the team.
“We’re very proud to see our brand to continue to gain such positive traction and recognition. We’re seeing some really positive end of year figures come through, from achieving a 90% YoY ARR growth to maintaining high levels of online customer satisfaction. In 2023, we’re going to take Gravity Co international. We’ve got a clear goal to launch 850 beds by the end of next year and have already started our Series B fundraising to help us achieve this objective.”
Susanna Rock, Co-Founder and CIO, Gravity Co
In addition to international expansion in 2023, Gravity Co will be launching their Social Membership, allowing non-live in members to join the community and take full advantage of the perks and benefits on offer.
Gravity Co members can also look forward to the launch of the first Gravity HUB, a co-working and events space that will be opening in London in 2023 – followed by a rollout of the concept in all target cities globally.
