Ipartment plans Switzerland expansion
Ipartment GmbH, a provider of serviced apartments based in Cologne, is planning to enter the Swiss market. The first project is to be realized in Zurich in 2017. By 2025, the company aims to operate around 300 serviced apartments in metropolitan areas.
Christopher Valkovsky, CEO of Ipartment: "The demand for furnished apartments with a good standard of finish at a fair price has increased very strongly in Switzerland in recent years."
"The demand for furnished apartments with a good standard of finishing at a fair price has increased very strongly in Switzerland in recent years. On the one hand, due to the immigration of high-quality employees from abroad, and on the other hand, due to the changing housing needs of the new generation - to be more and more flexible," says Christopher Valkovsky, as the board member of Ipartment responsible for the Swiss market, about the expansion plans.
The aim is to be represented in all top locations in the medium term: from Geneva and Lausanne in the west, through Bern, Lucerne, Zug, Zurich and Basel, to St. Gallen and Winterthur in the east of Switzerland. Currently, Ipartment is looking for suitable properties. "These can be properties in central locations as well as residential properties with at least 50 units," Valkovsky said. "Investors have the opportunity to acquire real estate assets in Switzerland by participating in the AG," adds his colleague Luca Mijnssen.
To date, Ipartment has more than 200 furnished apartments at four locations in Cologne, Frankfurt's Europaviertel district and the center of Essen. In addition to apartments, some of the buildings also include conference rooms, a lounge or event spaces. From 2017, there will also be Ipartments in Hamburg's Überseeviertel. The flagship building in Frankfurt has already been named Germany's best apartment building twice. (ah)
