The well-known Kyiv coworking space Kooperativ is taking over the operational management of the startup hub Lift99, founded by Estonian entrepreneur Ragnar Sass. The deal does not foresee a change of ownership, but the space is expected to be rebranded as Kooperativ Lift99, undergo a cosmetic renovation, and reallocate the business focuses of both teams.
The well-known Kyiv coworking space Kooperativ is taking over the operational management of the startup hub Lift99, founded by Estonian entrepreneur Ragnar Sass. The deal does not foresee a change of ownership, but the space is expected to be rebranded as Kooperativ Lift99, undergo a cosmetic renovation, and reallocate the business focuses of both teams.
Forbes Ukraine reports on the details of the partnership with reference to Kooperativ CEO Khrystyna Seryozhechkina and Lift99 co-founder Tatyana Chaykovska.
Under the terms of the license agreement, the teams will divide their areas of responsibility. Kooperativ will take on the management of the location and operational processes, while Lift99 will focus exclusively on the development of the startup community, investment programs, and interaction with funds.
The decision to join forces was made against the backdrop of different financial results of both spaces. While Kooperativ ended 2025 with revenue of about UAH 85 million and occupancy of locations by 95%, Lift99's financial indicators sagged. The hub's revenue decreased by almost 30% (to UAH 20.2 million), and losses increased. The situation was complicated by the fact that in August 2025, the Lift99 space was damaged as a result of a Russian attack , which forced the hub to take a three-month break for repairs. Currently, only half of the 255 workplaces at the location are occupied.
"Lift99 has always been about capital, with a focus on investing. The model did not involve making money from coworking. We need a quality partner within Ukraine. We did not consider anyone other than Kooperativ," explained Tetyana Chaykovska.
According to her, the partnership will free up resources for investment activities: the plans include launching joint projects and investing €2 million in new products next year.
For its part, Kooperativ sees the deal as part of a new strategy to scale as an asset-light operator. Over the next month, the company plans to invest up to $150,000 in updating the furniture, design and reception area at Lift99. The main goal is to increase the occupancy rate to 80% by 2026. The hub’s current residents (including AI startup Crosscheck, AIN media and Rakuten Viber) will retain their status and additionally gain access to the infrastructure of other Kooperativ locations.
The Lift99 startup hub began operating in Kyiv in April 2019 as an expansion of Ragnar Sassa’s Tallinn project. The Kooperativ coworking space was founded in December 2019 by Andriy Fedoriv, the owner of the creative agency Fedoriv Agency. Later, the co-owners of the space were Vyacheslav Klymov and Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, the founders of the Nova Poshta logistics group. Currently, Kooperativ operates two locations (a 600-desk coworking space and a mini-format on Khreshchatyk ) and is preparing to open a premium space for large businesses with an area of 5,000 sq m. m.
