(Bloomberg) -- Adam Neumann’s stint as WeWork’s chief ended last month as the office-sharing venture put its initial public offering on pause -- but one of his many side bets is building a war chest for a rapid expansion. Selina, which provides travelers with co-working spaces, accommodation and leisure activities, is working with Bank of America Corp. to raise a $500 million investment fund dedicated to U.S. real estate, according to its president, Yoav Gery. Neumann is among the firm’s more prominent backers, which also include Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and Tom Barrack’s Colony Latam Partners. With debt, the new vehicle will wield roughly $1 billion to buy or lease U.S. real estate and cover expenses such as the cost of converting properties, said Gery, who previously held roles at WeWork, Morgans Hotel Group and Marriott International. It’s an idea similar to WeWork’s real estate investment platform ARK, which tapped institutional investors to buy office buildings in which the company is a tenant. To be sure, the two companies focus on different categories. In contrast to WeWork’s tony offices, Selina pitches a modern bohemian lifestyle to customers it calls “digital nomads,” surfers and adventurers. Its website has pictures of apartments and shared offices, but also seaside shelters and a tree house. Selina was using its own money to shoulder the expense of setting up new properties when executives “realized that there’s a better, asset-light, way to fund growth at essentially, no cost to us,” Gery said. “There’s a big opportunity to turn distressed real estate into relevant, revenue-generating real estate, and to do it at scale.” Previous Fundraising Selina’s valuation reached $850 million in April as it raised $100 million from Access Industries, Peru’s Grupo Wiese and Colony Latam Partners, which acquired Abraaj Group’s private equity platform in Latin America. Neumann and Abraaj previously invested in a $95 million round in April 2018. The startup is seeking an executive to run the new vehicle and aims to finish the fundraising by the first half of 2020. In the U.S., the firm focuses on hubs such as Miami, New York and San Diego, and has plans to expand across cities including Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Austin, Washington, New Orleans and Chicago. It also aims to open “off-the-grid” locations nearby -- such as Woodstock, New York -- that can host company retreats. Internationally, Selina leans on partners to buy or lease real estate and fund renovations. They include Grupo Patio in Chile, Ampa Real Estate in Israel and DD3 in Mexico. It plans to keep doing so, especially in Asia, Gery said. But if the U.S. fund performs, Selina could raise a Europe-focused fund to accelerate growth there. The London-based company already has 54 locations in Latin America and Europe with a total of more than 12,000 beds. It aims to offer 130,000 beds across more than 400 locations by 2023, Gery said. To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, David Scheer, Steve Dickson ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Selina, a Panama-based start-up that provides digital nomads with accommodation, co-working spaces and leisure activities is in talks with Bank of America about raising $500m to launch an investment fund dedicated to US real estate. With debt, the vehicle is expected to have $1bn to buy or lease and convert properties. The idea is similar to ARK, the real estate investment platform founded by WeWork. Adam Neumann, founder and former CEO of WeWork, participated in a $95m funding round in April 2018. In April 2019 Selina raised a further $100m at a valuation of $850m.