The basic model is simple enough: we lease a property from a landlord on a 3 to 5-year agreement, and then we rent out the rooms to working professionals. We do all the hard work so the landlord doesn't have to. For tenants, it's a new-and-improved "2.0" version of communal London living. For instance, all of our properties have flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi, and we send a cleaner every week. For professionals wanting to make their mark in the Big Smoke, it takes away a lot of hassle to not have to sit around the kitchen table figuring out who owes what for the heating. Meet the founders of London Shared. Kim and Jake met as estate agency colleagues in 2004. A few years later, on a beach in Thailand, they bumped into one another, nearly by accident. Sitting on the sand sipping cocktails (though Jake swears it was beer), they swapped ideas for making a bigger dent in the UK property industry, and hatched a plan to do it. Back in the Big Smoke, they pooled their nous, ambition, and experience, and together they established London Shared in 2007. The idea? To rent properties from landlords, provide rooms to working professionals, and make co-living easy for all.
