m² has been operating in the Georgian development market for more than fifteen years, promising customers better living. Today the company is moving onto its next phase of development, rebranding its logo, and presenting a new slogan: “Live Your Own Life.” On the one hand, this message is a continuation of the existing brand promise of “Better Living.” But, on the other hand, it is the company’s response to the current challenges of modern life.
After fifteen years, you replaced the old slogan – “Better Living” – with a new one: “Live Your Own Life.” What else is new at m²?
Our business model has been transforming since 2021, and we are focusing on our main area, real estate development. The logical end of the transformation process is that by the end of 2022, we have a new brand strategy and platform in place.
We have been working on a new message and strategic brand platform for a year. It was created in-house, taking into account corporate research, customer needs analysis, our vision of the future, and global trends.
For years, we have been improving the development sector, introducing innovations, and implementing new ecological, safety and inclusiveness standards. Customer needs and wishes have evolved at the same time. While safety and reliability were a challenge in the past, today, they are standard requirements. Renovated homes and energy efficiency are tools for comfortable living.
However, people are now looking for more – they want their living environment to be shaped by their individualism, personal taste and everyday reality. That is why we encourage people to live their life differently to everyone else. We constantly remind them that their daily routine, behavior and experiences are unique. At the same time, we promise to enable them to live their own personalized lives on our properties.
Our job and mission are to create and develop modern, innovative, inclusive and safe spaces that connect people with themselves, their family members and the environment and give them the means to live an extraordinary, unique life.
What does it mean to you personally to “Live Your Own Life”?
To me, it means freedom. It means looking after yourself and your family and being free to make daily choices. For me, people and families are interesting due to their individuality, character and lifestyle. Even if people were to live in the same house and go to the same job, their lives, emotions, and stories would still be different. We want to create the right conditions for our residents and offer them products and services to enable them to lead fulfilling lives.
In practice, how do you help people live their own personalized lives?
Our promise is reflected in our vision, products and services. For example, maintenance and brokerage services make everyday life easier for our customers, save them time and allow them to spend more time on themselves.
A good example is our innovative project on Marshal Gelovani Avenue, which follows an entirely new concept in the urban development of Tbilisi. We developed this project together with the American urban planning company ZGF. We considered people’s different lifestyles, daily habits and individualism.
This project incorporates more than four hectares of green space, including a large central park with a surrounding boulevard and cycling lanes. In addition, sports fields, recreational and leisure spaces, children’s playgrounds, picnic and barbecue areas and various other functional spaces give people the opportunity to live according to their wishes, style and mood. Apart from the residential area, the settlement includes educational, sports and entertainment infrastructure. Here, everyone will have the opportunity to live like no one else, which means living their own life.
How would you summarize the past fifteen years? What are the core values that the company follows to this day?
I would describe these last fifteen years as a period of market development. We helped restore trust in the construction and development sector by keeping our promises. We shared our knowledge with customers, established a standard of comfort, introduced innovations, implemented international standards, and continue to do the same today. We have been working with international financial institutions for more than ten years. We set a higher standard for ourselves than the one in the country. We cooperate with international financial institutions such as FMO, IFC and ADB. The values by which we operate in the market and lead the corporation are: Freedom, focus on care, innovation and continuous development.
How much have you invested in this period, and how much have you built?
Our portfolio includes eleven completed projects, with a total investment value of $254 million. Current projects, most of which will be completed in 2023, are worth $318 million. Thus, m² has invested a total of $572 million.
I should point out that the total investment includes seven bonds issued by our company in the last ten years, amounting to $160 million, as well as resources raised from international financial institutions such as ADB, FMO and IFC, amounting to $75 million.
The number of apartments in completed projects is 2,900, and the total construction area is 373,000m² . As for current projects, they include 6,300 apartments and an area of 682,000m² .
In October 2022, Georgian Real Estate issued two-year bonds worth $35 million, which will help us implement future projects.
Who creates demand in today’s market, and who is your target segment?
We do not have a dominant target segment. Our customer base is very diverse. Generally speaking, Georgian citizens, emigrants, and foreign nationals create demand in the Georgian real estate market. In our case, based on data from the last two years, 85% of the residents are citizens of Georgia. Naturally, interest from nationals of other countries is also relatively high. 15% of our clients come from abroad and are predominantly Georgian emigrants.
Recently, real estate demand and prices have increased significantly. What are your forecasts in this regard?
The prices of our properties, which ranged between $850 to $1000 per square meter before the pandemic, have increased by approximately 30% to $1500 per square meter. I believe prices will not fall in the future, but I also do not expect a sharp increase. Regarding pricing, we are now at the point where we should have been before the pandemic. Therefore, I think that the sector will continue to develop steadily in the near future.
Can you share some of your plans with us? What kind of projects are you planning, and where will they be located?
We are planning to implement a unique type of project soon. In the spring of 2023, we will start building our first skyscraper, m² Highlight, on Marshal Gelovani Avenue. It will make our innovative development even more remarkable.
We will start implementing another project near a recreation area next to Mtatsminda Park early next year. It will consist of low-rise houses for those who want to live comfortably, cozily and close to nature, away from the noise of the city center.
We are also working on five new projects in central districts.
Our company has started a digitization process. We plan to offer our customers an application that will make their daily lives easier and leave them with more spare time.
A broad choice of projects, different types of terraces, a work environment for residents, Wi-Fi zones, recreational and entertainment spaces, ideal individual or family projects, 24-hour service, a mobile app, brokerage services – all of this is designed to save people time and allow them to live by our promise: “Live your life like no one else, live your own life.”
Photo Credits to Nika Paniashvili / Forbes Georgia
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