Smartworks to retire high-cost debt, fund expansion with IPO proceeds

Mint

12 hours ago

Bengaluru: Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd plans to retire high-cost debt and fund its expansion with the money it raises from its upcoming initial public offering of shares, top company executives said.
The Gurugram-based flexible workspace operator is preparing to launch its ₹ 583-crore IPO on 10 July. The IPO will be a combination of a fresh issue of shares aggregating to ₹ 445 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) amounting to ₹ 137.56 crore. (No fresh shares will be issued as part of the OFS; the money will flow to investors selling the shares, not to the company.)
Smartworks plans to use proceeds from the IPO, which will conclude on 14 July, for capital expenditure related to fit-outs and security deposits for its new centres, loan repayment, and general corporate purposes, managing director Neetish Sarda said in an interview.
'Post IPO, our net debt, which is around ₹ 299 crore, will reduce to ₹ 175 crore. The aim is to repay the high-cost debt, while the low-cost debt continues. Around ₹ 225 crore will be used to fund expansion,' Sarda said.
Smartworks is among the largest managed workspace companies in India, with 41 centres in 14 cities. It is the second flexible office operator to go for a public listing in India after Awfis Space Solutions Ltd, which made its public market debut in May last year.
The company plans to increase its portfolio from 10 million sq.ft. to 11.5 millionsq.ft. While Smartworks is present in all major cities in India and a number of smaller cities, about 45% of its portfolio is in western India, across Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad.
Last year, Smartworks also entered Coimbatore.
'Smartworks has significantly expanded in the last 2-3 years and will continue to grow,' said executive director Harsh Binani. 'While we will continue to focus on our core managed workspace business, we think there is a good opportunity to also grow certain ancillary businesses since we take care of over 700 clients with nearly one lakh (100,000) employees.'
India's total stock of flexible workspaces hit 74 million sq.ft. across the top seven cities in 2024. Property advisory JLL India in February estimated that the operational footprint of flexible workspaces across the top seven cities will surpass 100 million sq.ft. by 2026, underscoring the sector's pivotal role in shaping the country's evolving office landscape.
Smartworks's net loss widened to ₹ 63.17 crore in 2024-25 from a loss of ₹ 49.95 crore in the preceding year. Revenue from operations rose to ₹ 1,374.05 crore in FY25 from ₹ 1,039.36 crore in the preceding year, as per the company's red herring prospectus for its IPO.