&w=3840&q=100)
Smartworks Coworking aims to 'scale up' business after market debut
The Gurugram-based company has added an average of 1.3 million square feet of office space each year since 2022.
'Over the past three years, we have expanded to 10 million from 6 million square feet. In the first three months of 2025 alone, we added another 1.5 million square feet, bringing our total to over 11.5 million square feet,' Neetish Sarda, managing director of Smartworks, told 'Business Standard' in a telephonic conversation.
'Given the strong potential of the Indian market, we are confident in our ability to scale further. Despite operating on a high base, we have maintained a 35 per cent growth rate over the last couple of years, and we expect this momentum to continue,' he said without elaborating on the number.
The company on Thursday listed at Rs 445.1, a near 10 per cent premium to its issue price and taking its market cap to Rs 5,067 crore. Its initial public offering (IPO) follows that by Awfis Space Solutions, which listed last year and now has a market cap of over Rs 4,662 crore. Public listings by WeWork India, Indiqube and DevX are in the works, driven by demand for co-working office spaces across markets and sectors. According to Anarock, co-working spaces were the second highest demand-generating segment for leased office spaces from January to June.
Smartworks said it seeks a 'self-sustaining growth cycle', driven by cash inflows and demand for new and Grade A office spaces, alongside co-working and flex spaces. In FY25, the company reported Rs 250 crore in rental revenue. While overall revenue grew sevenfold and cash profits tripled, adjustments under Deloitte's audit process impacted the reported financials and resulted in a net loss of Rs 63 crore in FY25, the company said.
Harsh Binani, executive director of Smartworks, said the company is expanding to 'high-performing cities' beyond India's top seven and scaling up its presence with larger buildings and increased capacity. The expansion will add to its portfolio of 54 offices in 14–17 cities in India, as well as in Singapore. 'In the new cities we're entering, we typically launch with one or two centres.'
Smartworks has a client base of around 728 companies, including Google, Larsen & Toubro, Nothing, Groww, and Ernst & Young. The shared office space provider currently offers a total seat capacity of over 2.3 lakh across its centres.
Binani noted that the company has increased its profits 3.5 times and doubled its revenue over the past two years, a momentum it intends to continue. 'We're currently growing 1.5 times faster than any other player in the market, and we expect this momentum to continue.'
With the IPO, the total offer size comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 445 crore and an offer for sale of up to 3,379,740 equity shares by certain existing shareholders. Smartworks has allocated Rs 114 crore from the proceeds for debt reduction and Rs 226 crore for fit-outs.
Smartworks made its debut on the NSE and BSE, following the successful completion of its IPO. The company's shares listed at Rs 436.10 on the BSE, marking a premium of Rs 29.10. On the NSE, the stock opened slightly lower at Rs 435, reflecting a premium of Rs 28 per share.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dismisses Congress appeal against Rs 199 crore tax assessment
Denying relief to the Indian National Congress, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on Monday dismissed an appeal by the party against a tax demand of ₹199.15 crore for the year 2018-19. Late return filing and violations of cash donation limits were among the main grounds due to which the ITAT rejected the party's claim for tax exemption. 'The assessee's return filed on 02.02.2019 is not within the 'due' date to make it eligible for the impugned exemption,' ruled the coram on July 21. The INC had filed its income tax return on February 2, 2019 – over a month after the extended due date of December 31, 2018, prescribed under the IT Act. It had declared income after claiming an exemption of Rs. 199.15 crores. Another issue that the ITAT looked at was a violation of cash donation limits. According to scrutiny proceedings, the party had received ₹14.49 lakh in cash donations exceeding ₹2,000 from various individuals. Donations above ₹ 2,000 can only be received through banking channels like account payee cheques or electronic transfers as per the Finance Act, 2017. 'As per section 13A(d) of the Act, donation in excess of ₹2,000/- is mandatorily be received through a/c payee cheque/draft or through electronic mode and therefore donation in excess of ₹2,000/- received in cash violates provisions of clause (d) of first proviso to section 13A of the Act,' the ITAT order stated. The Congress tried to find respite in Section 139(4) of the IT Act which states that if an individual misses the ITR filing deadline, they can still file a belated return, subject to penalties. The ITAT, however, denied it relief. '…it is manifestly clear that the legislature has incorporated the statutory expression therein as 'within the time allowed under that section' i.e. section 139(1) as well as u/s 139(4)…we thus reject the assessee's instant first and foremost substantive grievance in very terms and decide the above first question framed between the parties; in the department's favour,' the tribunal ruled.
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
India, US BTA not signed yet, 5 rounds of talks held: Govt to Parliament
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament begins on Monday marking the first sitting since Operation Sindoor, India's precision airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan. India and the US are currently engaged in negotiations for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with five rounds of talks completed as of now. Simultaneously, India's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK, finalized in May, aims for deeper economic integration and tariff concessions, benefiting various sectors including textiles, IT, and agriculture. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: India and US are negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) which has not been signed as yet and five rounds of negotiations have been held till now, the government informed Parliament on BTA negotiations were launched in March 2025.'India and the US are negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement which has not been signed as yet,' minister of state, commerce and industry ministry, told Lok Sabha in a written a separate reply, he also said that the last round of talks was held from July 14-18 in minister also said that India's free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK is a modern, comprehensive and landmark agreement which seeks to achieve deepeconomic integration along with trade liberalisation and tariff concessions.'The FTA ensures comprehensive market access for goods, across all sectors, covering all of India's export interests. The FTA seeks to promote good regulatory practices and enhance transparency that are in sync with India's own focus on domestic reforms to enhance the ease of doing business,' he that the government takes care of all the sensitivities associated with the FTA and ensures that India's interests are protected, he said: 'Every FTA is unique and is based on specific dynamics of trade and is aimed at maximizing benefits for both nations.'More than 99% of Indian exports are expected to benefit from tariff liberalization under the FTA including improved export opportunities in labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, auto parts, and FTA will also support services exports due to commitments across trade in services such as IT/ITeS, financial services, professional services, other businessservices and educational agreement will benefit Indian farmers, fishermen, workers, MSMEs, startups and innovators,' he the India-UK FTA negotiations concluded in May, the talks with the EU are ongoing. Twelve rounds of negotiations have been held till recently, the last being from July 7-11 at Brussels.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
20 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Paytm turns around with ₹122.5 cr net profit, 28% jump in revenue from ops
One97 Communications (OCL), the company which operates the Paytm brand, reported a turnaround with a consolidated profit of Rs 122.5 crore in the April-June quarter of financial year 2026 (Q1FY26), from a net loss of Rs 838.9 crore recorded in Q1FY25. Paytm had posted a net loss of Rs 539.8 crore in Q4FY25. While it was in Q2FY25 when Paytm had reported a profit, it was due to the sale of its ticketing business to Zomato. Q1FY26 marks the first-ever PAT-positive quarter for the company, driven by operational profit. The Noida-based fintech firm's revenue from operations grew 27.7 per cent to Rs 1,917.5 crore in Q1FY26, from Rs 1,501.6 crore in Q1FY25. Sequentially, revenue from operations remained stagnant compared to Rs 1,911.5 crore in Q4FY25. Paytm has been cutting down on its expenses in recent quarters, which has helped it turn profitable in Q1FY26. The company reported total expenses of Rs 2,016.1 crore in Q1FY26, an 18.6 per cent reduction from Rs 2,476.4 crore in Q1FY25. Total expenses were down 6.4 per cent from Rs 2,154.9 crore in Q4FY25. The company has slashed its marketing and promotional costs from Rs 221.4 crore in Q1FY25 to Rs 99.8 crore in Q1FY26, a 54.9 per cent cut on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Sequentially, these costs were down 30 per cent from Rs 142.7 crore in Q4FY25. Segmental Revenue from Operations Paytm's revenue from payment services grew 18 per cent to Rs 1,044 crore in Q1FY26, from Rs 884 crore in Q1FY25, though it was slightly lower than Rs 1,046 crore in Q4FY25. The number of registered merchants with Paytm grew 11 per cent on a YoY basis to 45 million in Q1FY26 from 41 million in Q1FY25. Sequentially, this count grew 3 per cent from 44 million in Q4FY25. The company reported an all-time high of 13 million merchant subscriptions, including payment acceptance devices, in Q1FY26. This number has grown from 10.9 million in Q1FY25 and 12.4 million in Q4FY25. Revenue from the distribution of financial services doubled to Rs 561 crore in Q1FY26 from Rs 280 crore in Q1FY25. This marginally grew by 3 per cent from Rs 545 crore in Q4FY25. The company said a majority of its merchant loans were disbursed under a non-DLG (default loss guarantee) model, with more than 50 per cent of loans disbursed to repeat customers. A DLG model is a contractual arrangement between a fintech and a lender where the former guarantees to compensate the lender for losses arising from defaults by borrowers. A non-DLG model excludes such arrangements. However, the company expects slower sequential growth in revenue from the distribution of financial services compared to disbursement growth. It also expects a higher share of non-DLG disbursements in the future, which 'reduces upfront DLG costs and also lifetime revenue by the corresponding amount'. The company's cash balance at the end of Q1FY26 stood at Rs 12,872 crore, compared to Rs 8,108 crore at the end of Q1FY25 and Rs 12,809 crore at the end of March 2025. The increase in the cash balance can be attributed to the company's sale of its entertainment ticketing business in August 2024 to Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore and its sale of stock acquisition rights in Japan-based PayPay in December 2024 for Rs 2,364 crore. Employee Costs Paytm's indirect expenses stood at Rs 1,079 crore in Q1FY26, down 30 per cent from Rs 1,548 crore in Q1FY25. Sales employee costs grew 19 per cent to Rs 266 crore in Q1FY26 from Rs 224 crore in Q1FY25. The company said it is expanding into Tier II and III regions to increase monetisation. However, its non-sales employee costs declined 28 per cent to Rs 346 crore in Q1FY26 from Rs 482 crore in Q1FY25. The decline comes on the back of the firm utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity. The Paytm stock hit a 42 month high and closed 3.37 per cent higher at Rs 1,052.60 on the BSE on Tuesday, ahead of the Q1 results that were announced post market hours. The stock, however, is still well below its November 2021 IPO price of Rs 2,150 per share
