Ascott looking to introduce lyf brand in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA (Nov 10): The Ascott Ltd (Ascott), the serviced residence arm of CapitaLand Ltd, is planning further expansion in Malaysia including the introduction of its lyf (pronounced as life) brand here.

The lyf brand introduces a new co-living concept targeted at millennials.

“lyf aims to fit the needs of tomorrow’s travellers. We are in very active discussions to find a good site in central Kuala Lumpur [for the first lyf in Malaysia],” Ascott Singapore and Malaysia regional general manager Ervin Yeo told EdgeProp.my.

“We are actively looking at bringing lyf to Malaysia. There are some sites that look promising, but we want to make sure we get the right site, partner, area and demographic for the first lyf property in Malaysia. We hope to have something to announce by next year,” he added.

“We do have quite a number of offers, but we are very stringent in terms of location. We are not taking projects just by looking at the numbers — we are quite selective when it comes to the lyf brand,” added Ascott International Management (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd country general manager Philip Lim.

Unveiled in November 2016, lyf is an unconventional accommodation that is based on a co-living and co-working concept to provide communal spaces suited to millennials’ preferences, allowing them to connect, collaborate and bond as a community.

Properties under the lyf brand are managed by millennials who act as community managers, city and food guides, bar keepers and problem solvers — all rolled into one.

Ascott aims to have 10,000 units under the lyf brand globally by 2020. To date, it has secured almost 500 units across three properties — the 112-unit lyf Wu Tong Island Shenzhen, the 120-unit lyf DDA Dalian in China and the 240-unit lyf Farrer Park Singapore.

Besides lyf, Ascott has several established brands such as the Ascott, Citadines, Somerset, The Crest Collection and Quest Apartment Hotels. It was announced in September this year that the company is adding 11 serviced residential properties or some 3,000 units over the next six years in Malaysia.

The 11 upcoming properties include Ascott Star KLCC Kuala Lumpur, Citadines Odeon Kuala Lumpur, Citadines Ara Damansara Petaling Jaya, Citadines Montfort Shah Alam, Somerset Sphera Putrajaya, Citadines Batu Maung Penang, Sky Residences Bukit Mertajam, Somerset Pulau Melaka, Citadines Medini Iskandar Puteri, Somerset Times Square Miri and Citadines Waterfront Kota Kinabalu.

This will increase Ascott’s portfolio in the country from the current 1,600 serviced residences across eight properties, currently enjoying occupancy rate of over 70%, to more than 4,600 units across 19 properties.

“In fact, we are looking at beyond just serviced apartments as we can see people’s housing and accommodation needs are starting to differ, following their life or career changes. Hence, we are looking at being an accommodation provider across the life cycle — from student housing to senior living. We are looking very actively at projects across the spectrum in and outside Malaysia,” said Yeo.

This story first appeared in EdgeProp.my pullout on Nov 10, 2017. Download EdgeProp.my pullout here for free.