Cornerstone Partners Group acquires 10% stake in co-working space Colony

PETALING JAYA (April 9): Cornerstone Partners Group, a hospitality investment firm based in Asia, has acquired a 10% stake in luxurious co-working space Colony, Colony Space Asia executive director and co-founder Timothy Tiah told EdgeProp.my.

According to Tiah, the deal values the company at US$15 million to US$20 million (RM57.9 milllion to RM77.3 million), translating into a four-times return for its early investors.

The eight-month-old company has raised a total of US$5 million to date and is looking to open more locations in Kuala Lumpur this year after its first location at Jalan Kia Peng turned profitable in a mere three months.

This follows Tiah’s announcement last month that the company will be opening the second Colony co-working space in KL Eco City in June.

“I’m honoured to have Cornerstone Partners Group as an investor and valued partner in Colony to help us take this to the next level. We will continue to invest in our vision of creating the Ritz-Carlton of the workspace,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cornerstone Partners Group CEO and co-founder Jason Chong noted that the investment in Colony signifies their confidence in Tiah’s leadership and Colony’s potential.

“We were amazed at how Colony was able to take the co-working space model that was largely unprofitable to one that is as lucrative as Colony is today,” said Chong.

Cornerstone — which owns hotel assets around Asia including the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton in Penang, the Kimpton in Taipei and the upcoming citizenM in Kuala Lumpur city centre — sees potential synergies with Colony and the hospitality industry, he added.

“One such possibility is building a Colony in each hotel location to replace the traditionally low-yield business that centre hotels have,” Chong explained.

To recap, Colony’s first co-working space was officially launched in late July last year at its KLCC location on Jalan Kia Peng.

Its membership options include reserved desks, hot desks, private suites and prepaid passes, along with exclusive amenities such as nap rooms, massage room, rooftop gym/swimming pool access, and in-house Espressolab coffee.

Tiah noted that aside from an array of new expansion plans and renovation costs, the company intends to capitalise on the funding raised to expand more locations and invest in talent.