Harbour, a Chinese co-living space operator supported by Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and Trustbridge Partners, launched two separate funds for purchasing land and existing properties with respective amounts of 10 billion yuan and US$1 billion, the South China Morning Post reported.
The 10 billion-yuan fund launched with Far East Horizon carries a mandate to acquire wholesale land plots that will be used for rental flat developments, while the US$1 billion fund formed with Gaw Capital will be utilized for buying existing properties that will be converted into residential projects, the paper noted.
The launching of the funds, according to the May 24 report, signifies the incorporation of an asset-heavy model into the Shanghai-based startup, which received 400 million yuan from its backers in August 2017.
Huang Haibin, Harbour's CEO, told the paper that the company is planning to enter Hong Kong in the near term as it aims to grow its portfolio by 2018-end to 40,000 rooms from 15,000 rooms across China's top cities, including Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, where it recently bought two luxury development sites.
Separately, Harbour established a strategic cooperation with Shanghai state-owned industrial estate operator Lingang Group that will see the latter providing operating services for the former's existing land and properties, the publication added.
As of May 24, US$1 was equivalent to 6.38 yuan.
