It’s GOOD to be HOME! Our investment in Ukio
Felix Capital leads Ukio’s $28m Series A to build a global brand in flexible rental
Over the past years, at Felix we have studied the changes in consumer behaviours due to shifts in cultural norms and macro trends. One clear impact of the recent pandemic is the way it has transformed the relationship between people and the environment they live in.
Flexible housing comes as a cultural norm
Thanks to the shift towards a hybrid lifestyle in the work environment, flexible housing, or “work from wherever”, started to become an important part of our culture. People find that working remotely means they are more productive, more communicative with their team members and less likely to burnout.
However, flexible rental (defined as stays of 1–11 months) is not a new consumer behaviour — corporate relocations, personal relocations, study abroad… There are hundreds of reasons why one may need a place to stay for a 3–4 month duration. In fact, even as employees return to their office, Airbnb announced that in Q3 22, 20% of their bookings came from long-term stays, consistent from a year ago. In Western Europe alone, flexible housing represents a $30bn market, growing at 8% YoY.
The opportunity for a branded play
Over the past years, we’ve seen strong brands emerge in various housing categories — Airbnb for short-term rental, Zillow for long-term rental, Pacaso for vacation home purchases, yet there hasn’t been yet a global brand emerging in the flexible housing space.
Introducing Ukio, a modern housing brand
Ukio was launched in October 2020 with the mission to build “the leading and best-loved housing brand” — by providing a global network of beautifully designed flats for flexible housing coupled by a superior digital experience. Renters lease out Ukio flats for a minimum of 1 month to 1 year, with a current 3-month average. Each Ukio apartment is furnished by a handpicked team of local designers who specialise in creating unique, premium living spaces. This means that no matter which city a guest stays in, no two apartments will ever be the same.
Today, Ukio operates 500+ apartments in Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Berlin, and is growing by the day. Since the start of 2022, Ukio has grown 7x in revenue, while maintaining an impressive occupancy rate of 96%, highlighting also the power of using tech and data at the heart of their playbook.
Stan and Jeremy, brothers and dynamic duo
When we first met Stan and Jeremy in 2020, we were immediately impressed by their ambition, calibre and passion for the category. Over the years, we got to know them at a personal level, and have seen them as great operators, visionaries, mentors, fathers, and sons. Stan and Jeremy are brothers with complementary backgrounds. Stan is the definition of execution excellence: prior to starting Ukio, Stan led the Airbnb business in Latin America as GM and Regional Director, and ended up leading Global Growth and Experiences. Jeremy on the other hand is an exceptional tech & product talent, with product lead roles at Electronic Arts, Headspace, Knotel and Zynga.
It’s good to be home, Ukio!
We are thrilled to be partnering with the Ukio team, alongside friends at Heartcore, Breega, Kreos, and many trusted angels including Avi Meir, the founder of TravelPerk, another Felix portfolio company, Angélique Gérard, and Sarona Ventures. We are big believers in Ukio’s potential in creating a global housing brand, and are excited to bring more beautiful homes to people, no matter the length of their stay!
