This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:13 p.m. Oct. 16, 2025.
ICG (Intermediate Capital Group), a U.K. global asset manager that entered South Korea's rental housing market in 2022 by partnering with coliving company Homes Company, is apparently preparing an exit.
According to investment banking industry sources on the 16th, ICG is pushing to sell revenue securities for four assets it invested in through a 300 billion won blind fund it raised with Homes Company. As it reorganizes its Asia investment strategy, it is reportedly looking for new investors for the funds that currently hold each asset.
ICG is a global asset manager headquartered in London, with total assets under management (AUM) of $68.5 billion. It is active in global alternative investments and private credit. Founded in 2015, Homes Company provides coliving product development, operations and brokerage services to meet growing single-person household housing demand and changes in consumer lifestyles.
ICG entered the rental housing market in Dec. 2022 by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Homes Company to establish a joint venture (JV) for co-developing coliving and lodging facilities in Korea. They raised a 300 billion won fund, and based on that, Homes Company purchased undervalued hotels or buildings in Korea and converted and operated them as coliving houses or hotel-style residences.
There are currently four rental housing properties purchased through this fund. They are the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Ingye-dong, Suwon, Gyeonggi (2023); Doksan SI Hotel in Geumcheon District, Seoul (2023); an officetel and neighborhood living facility building in Seonjeongneung, Gangnam District, Seoul (2024); and the former Dears Myeongdong Hotel in Jung District, Seoul (2024). They have been remodeled respectively into Homes Stay Suwon, Homes Stay G Valley Gasan, Homes Studio Seonjeongneung and Homes Red Myeongdong.
Even after ICG exits, Homes Company is expected to continue related investments. It has similar experience. Homes Studio Seonjeongneung was a property Homes Company bought in 2018 alongside retail investors through first- and second-class revenue securities of Ewha Asset Management funds. Homes Company exited the existing revenue security holders in 2024 and moved this asset into the fund it operates with ICG.
An industry source said, "ICG has been praised for moving quickly into Korea's rental housing market compared with others, but as the head office recently revised its strategy, it appears to be reviewing its existing investments in Korea," and noted, "The domestic market itself is active with changes such as an increase in one- to two-person households and the conversion of jeonse deposits into monthly rents, and global real estate and finance heavyweights continue direct and indirect investments."