Urban Company gets shareholder nod to raise Rs 528 crore in fresh capital via IPO: Report

Urban Company has cleared its last internal hurdle for a stock‑market debut after shareholders reportedly agreed to raise up to Rs 528 crore in primary capital through an initial public offering (IPO), according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The home‑services marketplace had earlier weighed a primary raise of about Rs 3,000 crore but trimmed the figure by more than 80% because of choppy market conditions and global trade worries. 

Bankers Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are advising on the deal, and a draft red‑herring prospectus is expected to reach the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) soon, according to media reports.

Shift to public company completed

Last month, the Gurugram‑based startup formally became a public limited company, changing its name from Urbancalp Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. to Urbanclap Technologies India Ltd., a step that clears the way for the filing.

Urban Company's market presence

Urban Company operates in more than 60 cities in India and overseas markets such as Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It connects about 55,000 service professionals with users who book cleaning, repair, beauty and other at‑home services.

In the financial year ended March 2024 (FY24), the platform logged operating revenue of Rs 827 crore, up 30% from the previous year, while net loss narrowed 70% to Rs 93 crore. Average monthly orders now stand at roughly 2.2 million, with an average ticket size of Rs 1,290. 

The company, last valued at about $2.5 billion, has raised more than $450 million since 2014, including a $255 million Series F round in 2021 led by Prosus and Dragoneer. It recently entered the quick‑commerce arena with Insta Maids, a 15‑minute maid‑booking service that pays workers by the hour.

Existing investors to sell shares

It's worth noting that existing investors will also sell shares through the IPO's offer-for-sale component.

"The company intends to list its equity shares on one or more stock exchanges to enable the shareholders to have a formal marketplace for dealing with such equity shares. The company proposes to create, offer, issue and allot fresh equity shares of the company bearing face value Rs 1 each up to an aggregate of Rs 528 crore ($60.60 million)," Urban Company said in its RoC filing.