China-based co-working space operator Fountown has attracted RMB200m ($30m) in series A capital from a consortium featuring hotel management company Huazhu Hotels Group, China Money Network reported on Friday.
The round was led by asset management firm CDH Investments and also included Gopher Asset Management. Fountown was valued at RMB1bn for the transaction.
Founded in April 2015, Fountown’s network currently counts 19 spaces with a total of more than 10,000 workstations. The company is primarily active in Shanghai but plans to expand to Beijing next month.
Fountown has not revealed any earlier funding. Its competitors include China-based UrWork and US-based WeWork, both of which have been backed by Chinese corporates in recent months.
UrWork attracted $46m in pre-series B funding from investors including commercial real estate developer Yintai Land in June 2016, while WeWork closed a $430m series F round co-led by conglomerate Legend Holdings and its private equity subsidiary Hony Capital in March 2016.