The Assembly Place to buy co-living peer in Singapore

The Assembly Place (TAP), a co-living startup based in Singapore, is set to acquire local firm Libeto, an operator in the same space under the Libeto Commontown (Singapore) brand.

Financial details of the deal were kept undisclosed.

The Assembly Place founder and CEO Eugene Lim YJ / Photo credit: The Assembly Place

The acquisition would involve Libeto Commontown’s head leases and sub-leases totaling around 120 rooms, which are all currently 100% occupied. TAP said the move will increase its presence in Singapore to over 600 operational co-living rooms, with another 200 in the pipeline set to launch by May.

TAP will be launching a co-living hostel with 181 beds as well as a 4-story residential block in April. Planning and construction are also under way for its serviced apartment assets at three different locations, which are all scheduled to launch by the fourth quarter of the year.

The deal is the latest in TAP’s string of straight lease acquisitions across the city-state since raising US$4.1 million in seed funding last year. The company said it has added close to 250 rooms to its portfolio over the last 10 weeks.

The co-living startup added that its portfolio currently consists of 60% management contracts and 40% straight leases.

“Together with our existing team, we are confident that TAP will continue to scale aggressively this year whilst providing stellar levels of service and operational capability,” said Eugene Lim YJ, founder and CEO of TAP.

Lim founded the company in 2019, and it has since amassed more than S$250 million (US$184 million) in assets under management.

See also: Two models emerge from latest wave of co-living startups in Indonesia

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.36.