Saturday, August 2, 2025

Smartworks eyes ₹445 crore IPO, net debt positive status

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Smartworks Coworking Spaces is stepping into the public market spotlight with a ₹580 crore IPO, signalling its intent to scale aggressively in India’s booming office space sector. Positioned as the largest managed campus operator in the country, the company is riding on India’s transformation into the “office to the world,” a vision echoed by both policymakers and global investors.The IPO comprises a primary raise of ₹445 crore, with ₹114 crore allocated to repay high-cost debt. “Once we repay this high-cost debt of ₹114 crore, the company is going to become net debt positive,” said Harsh Binani, Executive Director at Smartworks Coworking Spaces. As of March 2025, the company had net debt of ₹299 crore with ₹100 crore in cash balances, setting the stage for a healthy post-IPO balance sheet with ₹200 crore debt and ₹240 crore in cash.

The company has scaled up rapidly, from 6 million square feet to 11.5 million square feet in just a few years, and is now present in 15 cities with over 50 centres. “Just in the last three months since we declared this in our Red Herring Prospectus (RHP), we’ve signed an additional 1.5 million square feet,” Binani said. The company focuses on converting entire buildings into customised campuses for enterprise clients, primarily those requiring over 300 seats.

Smartworks has adopted a fully asset-light model, leasing rather than owning its properties. “With only ₹500 crore of equity infused, we’ve been able to scale up,” said Nitesh Sarda, Managing Director of Smartworks. The firm signs 15-year leases with landlords, with a five-year lock-in period, while enterprise clients usually commit to an average tenure of 50 months. “Our retention rate is as high as 86% even after that,” Sarda added.

Also Read: Smartworks Coworking Spaces IPO kicks off today: Should you subscribe to it?Financially, the company has demonstrated strong operational leverage. Adjusted EBITDA has risen from ₹35 crore in FY23 to ₹172 crore in FY25 — a 3.5x jump — while revenue rose only 1.7x from ₹700 crore to ₹1,174 crore. “While the revenue has increased by 1.57 times, our EBITDA has increased by 3.5 times,” said Sarda, pointing to efficient scaling and margin expansion. Last year’s EBITDA margin stood at 12.5%, with cash flow touching ₹240 crore.

Diversification has been key to Smartworks’ resilience. While 55–60% of India’s commercial demand traditionally comes from IT/ITeS, Smartworks draws just 42–45% from the sector, with a growing client base in manufacturing, BFSI, and healthcare. “We’ve distributed our client base across all sectors,” Sarda said, adding that even Indian startups are now taking large office spaces.

For the entire interview, watch the accompanying video

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