Grupo Catalana Occidente S A : GCO Ventures launches Vivara, a guaranteed rental start-up

"Vilara, the second start-up created by GCO Ventures, GCO's corporate venturing vehicle, offers small owners the best tenants profiles, as well as extensive services to ensure the peace of mind of both owners and tenants."

GCO Ventures , GCO's corporate selling vehicle, has launched its second venture: Vilara, a start-up focused on offering safe and guaranteed rental of a home for both the owner and the tenant. GCO Ventures thus contributes to the long-term growth of GCO by identifying, constructing and launching new businesses that respond to society's needs, in this case in the home field.

Vilara was created with the aim of ensuring the peace of mind of small owners, providing them with solvent tenants and trustworthy tenants, as well as providing quality homes to tenants. In this regard, the start-up guarantees owners the guaranteed and timely payment of the rent and maintenance of the property, through comprehensive management of the tenant and all its incidents and repairs; Vilara also offers coverage for non-payment, acts of vandalism and legal coverage for evictions. Similarly, in the event of termination by the tenant or at the maturity of the contract, Vilara is responsible for seeking a new tenant.

These facilities are framed within a context in which concern for non-payment grows, a fact confirmed at national level, since 13.2% of the population has suffered delays in payments (mortgage or rent, utility accounts, purchases in instalments), according to the Living Conditions Survey (INE).

The rent has earned market share in Spain compared to the property in recent years. Thus, the number of Spanish households living under the lease scheme has increased by 19.25% between 2011 and 2021, to 16.5%, according to data from the last housing census published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In the last 20 years, the growth of rent has been 41%.

To develop the project, Vilara has added Juan Carlos Álvarez, an expert in the management and marketing of real estate assets, who has a consolidated history of more than 23 years in the real estate sector.

In the words of María José Álvarez, CEO of GCO Ventures, "we are fully immersed in the creation and development of projects that, as a Vilara, are aligned with GCO's strategic priorities to respond to the new trends and needs of society, complying with the purpose of protecting and accompany people in all stages of their lives to give them peace of mind and trust. "

Juan Carlos Álvarez, CEO of Vilara, said that "at Vivara we want your rental experience to be as easy and comfortable as possible. We are proud to launch this project with GCO Ventures, the vehicle of corporate venturing of a GCO group. "

The birth of GCO Ventures

Vilara is the second venture built by GCO Ventures, an entity created by GCO last May to build, invest and/or accompany entrepreneurs with growth plans.

GCO Ventures is thus promoting the projects selected through two areas of specialization. The first is the venture building, in which the company creates, launches and scale start-ups. The second is investment, through two possible ways: Direct funding to startups, or investment in venture capital funds aligned with the strategy of GCO Ventures.