A company that counts
WeWork
co-founder
Adam Neumann
as one of its biggest backers is getting into the property management business.
Alfred Club, Inc., which created an app that connects high-end apartment renters with services such as personal shoppers and home cleaners, is buying RKW Residential, a Charlotte, N.C.-based property management firm, the companies said Tuesday.
RKW operates a 30,000-unit portfolio of apartments and single-family homes in fast-growing markets across the Southeast. The amount paid for RKW wasn’t disclosed.
Mr. Neumann has been forging a new path in residential real estate following his resignation as WeWork’s chief executive in 2019 and the co-working company’s failed effort to go public.
Mr. Neumann has invested more than $1 billion into apartment investments in southern markets such as Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Miami, with ambitions to build a new residential real estate brand based around amenity-rich luxury buildings.
Some 250,000 residents use the Alfred app nationwide, the company says.
Photo:
Alfred
Mr. Neumann acquired a major stake in Alfred in 2020, investing $30 million. He added to that recently as part of Alfred’s $125 million fundraising round led by real-estate investment company Rialto Capital. The round included new investment commitments from Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, one of the largest U.S. apartment managers.
While the Alfred app, named for Batman’s loyal butler, caters predominantly to renters in high-end developments, tenants can also use the app to make maintenance requests, pay rent and track packages. Some 250,000 residents use Alfred nationwide, according to the company.
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On-demand residential apps such as Alfred have been flourishing in recent years. They include companies such as Porch, a marketplace to shop for moving and home-improvement professionals. Management platforms such as AppFolio offer an online portal for tenants to pay rent and request repairs.
Alfred’s purchase of a large property manager will allow it to greatly expand the customer base of its app, while seizing on surging population and rent growth in the Sunbelt, said its CEO
Marcela Sapone.
“More people are renting and renting longer and paying more,” she said. “They expect a personalized experience.”
Ms. Sapone cited Mr. Neumann, who acts as an adviser to Alfred, as an inspiration. “He really transformed commercial real estate faster than anybody on the planet, and to have him on our side as we do the same for residential is a great asset to the company,” she said.
Write to Will Parker at [email protected]
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Appeared in the March 9, 2022, print edition as ‘App Backed by Ex-WeWork CEO Neumann Makes A Sunbelt Play.’
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