Awfis Space raises ₹269 cr from anchor investors; IPO to open today

A day ahead of opening of its initial public offering (IPO), co-working space company Awfis Space Solutions has raised ₹268.61 crore from anchor investors at the upper end of the price band at ₹383 per equity share. The anchor book saw participation from 32 investors, including both domestic and foreign institutional investors.

As per the exchange data, foreign funds such as Goldman Sachs Funds, Allianz Global Investors Fund, HSBC Global Investors Fund, Volrado Venture Partners Fund and Natixis International Funds participated in the anchor book. Larger investment position was taken by Ashoka Whiteoak ICAV and Ashoka Whiteoak Emerging Markets Trust PLC.

Domestic institutional investors included HDFC Mutual Fund, Nippon Life India Trustee Ltd, Axis Mutual Fund, Canara Rebeco Mutual Fund, Motilal Oswal Large Cap Fund and Edelweiss Trusteeship Co Ltd.

IPO to open today

The ₹599 crore IPO of Delhi-based workspace solution provider will open for subscription today and will close on May 24. The allotment of shares to applicants is expected to be finalised on May 28, while the tentative date for listing of the shares on the BSE and NSE is May 30, 2024.

The price band for the public offering has been fixed in the range of ₹364-383 per equity share and the lot size is 39 equity shares and in multiples thereafter.

As per the revised document filed with the SEBI, Awfis has reserved 75% of the issue for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors, and the remaining 10% for retail investors.

The IPO of Awfis comprises a fresh issue of 0.33 crore shares worth ₹128 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 1.23 crore shares aggregating to ₹470.93 crore by existing shareholders. Under the OFS, Peak XV Partners Investments V (formerly known as SCI Investments V) will sell up to 6,615,586 equity shares; Bisque Ltd to offload up to 5,594,912 equity shares; and Link Investment Trust to sell up to 85,201 equity shares. 

Incorporated in December 2014, the co-working space startup provides a wide spectrum of flexible workspace solutions ranging from individual flexible desk needs to customised office spaces for startups, small and medium enterprises as well as for large corporates and multi-national corporations. The company intends to use capital raised from fresh issuance of equity shares for funding capital expenditure towards the establishment of new centres. A part of the fund will be also used to meet working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

For the financial year 2023-24, Awfis posted net loss of ₹46.64 crore compared to loss of ₹57.16 crore in FY22 and ₹42.64 crore in FY21. The revenue, however, nearly doubled to ₹565.79 crore from ₹278.72 crore in FY22 and ₹216.02 crore in FY21. As of March 31, 2023, the total assets stood at ₹930.61 crore, while net worth was ₹169.36 crore.

As per CBRE Report mentioned in the RHP, Awfis was the largest flexible workspace solutions company in India as of June 30, 2023, with presence in 16 cities across the country, catering to 2,139 clients. It has 136 total centers with 81,433 total seats and total chargeable area of 4.12 million sq. ft., of which 15 centers and 11,191 seats are under fit-out with chargeable area aggregating to 0.53 million sq. ft. In addition, the company has entered into signed letters of intent with space owners for 14 additional centers, with 10,886 seats aggregating to 0.55 million sq. ft.