The Medici Living Group, the leading co-living provider in Europe and the U.S, is expanding into Spain and Portugal. It has therefore appointed Nicolas Dugerdil as Director Expansion Iberia. Based in Barcelona, he will be spearheading the group’s expansion and roll-out of the Quarters co-living brand in the region. He will identify locations and secure buildings, with an initial focus on Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon. Other cities are to follow once a foothold has been established.
The company has ambitious plans for Iberia. Up to 20% of the roll-out funding will be provided by Corestate Capital, is to be invested in Spain and Portugal adding up to 1.200 co-living beds in these two countries. The Quarters brand, with its high-end furnishings and a comprehensive digital concept, is specifically targeted at young professionals from the millennial generation. The brand’s roll-out across Europe has accelerated since the end of last year when Medici Living Corestate Capital Holding to invest €1bn of equity and debt in the co-living sector over the next three to five years. The programme marks the largest planned investment in the history of the young asset class worldwide.
Dugerdil has previously held the position of Expansion Director for Uterqüe, managing the fast-growing premium fashion brand’s entire real estate portfolio and leading its international development for the Spanish Inditex Group. Between 2013 and 2016, as Expansion Manager for Switzerland, he built up Inditex’s network of stores in the country, and between 2012 and 2013 was part of the core team rolling-out the global Radio Frequency Identification project, a technology that has had a huge impact on the retail sector.
“We want to become the WeWork of co-living in the coming years. Iberia is another important step on this journey,” said Medici Living founder and CEO Gunther Schmidt. “Home prices in both Spain and Portugal have been rising steadily in major cities over the past years so that affordable housing for young professionals has become scarce. With our Quarters concept, we will be offering just the right community and living space to fill the current supply gap.”
