Nick spent over a decade in leadership roles at housing innovator Pocket Living growing the business to a turnover of £70 million and delivering more than 2,000 homes across large and small mixed use sites. He remains a strategic advisor to Pocket Living.
He also formerly served as a Cabinet Member in LB Wandsworth where he led on planning helping to enable the initial stages of the Nine Elms regeneration and Battersea Powerstation redevelopment. He is a chartered planner, land surveyor and former Non-Executive in the London NHS.
At Urban Sketch, Nick leads the team and provides strategic advice across all projects. He is passionate about good placemaking, development and the potential of public private partnerships.
Where is the co-living market right now?
The co-living market is still in its nascent stages, with relatively few operational buildings. However, it’s undergoing rapid growth, fuelled by substantial interest from capital markets. This growth is partly driven by the reduction in rental stock, particularly in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). As the number of HMOs decreases, co-living has the potential to fill the gap for young people seeking housing options. It's an exciting opportunity that is yet to be fully realised, which is why events like this conference are so important.
Who is the target market for co-living?
The target market primarily consists of individuals who have transitioned out of the student housing market. These are people likely in their mid-to-late 20s up to their early 40s. Typically, they are singles or couples living in cities with good connectivity, earning reasonable but not high salaries. Currently, many co-living spaces, especially in London, cater to higher income brackets due to limited supply, which has driven rental prices up. However, the market hasn’t yet fully solved how to cater to mid-income earners, though I anticipate innovations in this area soon.
What are the drivers behind this new living asset?
A significant generational shift away from home ownership is one of the key drivers. While my career began in affordable home ownership, the challenges in that sector have become apparent. People today are less inclined to own homes, partly due to affordability issues and partly due to changing cultural views. Flexibility and convenience are also driving factors. People value the ability to move easily without the hassle of managing all the bills and logistics. Co-living meets this need by offering a convenient, flexible living option close to workplaces.
What are co-living’s biggest challenges and threats?
One of the main challenges is that co-living is still not well understood by policymakers. It’s often viewed as a substandard, expensive option, but this perspective overlooks the fact that it’s replacing an outdated model—namely, poorly converted HMOs that push families out of cities. Co-living offers a professionally managed, purpose-built alternative. The biggest hurdle is convincing policymakers that this isn’t a substandard option but rather a necessary evolution in housing to meet the needs of modern generations.
How do the capital markets view co-living right now?
There’s a lot of interest in co-living from capital markets, although core capital, like UK pension funds and insurers, isn’t fully on board yet. It’s likely a matter of waiting to see how the market develops over the next three to five years. I believe co-living should be seen as an extension of the build-to-rent sector, which would make it more palatable to capital markets. Some investors are still cautious about what to do if co-living doesn’t succeed, but with proper appraisal and location selection, the fundamentals suggest it should be a successful investment.
What are the implications for other living uses?
Co-living reflects trends we’ve already seen in the student housing market, where quality and convenience have become paramount. It also indicates that the traditional multi-family housing model is struggling, especially with current debt rates. As a result, we may see fewer multi-family developments and more co-living projects, as people’s preferences and economic realities shift.
What kind of innovations can we expect to see in the future?
There’s potential for senior co-living, which is an area I’m particularly interested in. We haven’t yet figured out how to make senior living work for middle-income earners in the UK, but co-living could provide a solution through smaller, well-amenitised buildings. Additionally, there’s room for innovation in the broader co-living market, particularly in creating a more affordable middle-market offering. This could involve shared apartments with efficient designs that cater to mid-income earners, potentially unlocking a large market of people who currently can’t afford to rent independently.