Co-living start-up Stanza Living has secured $57 million in debt financing led by Kotak Mahindra Bank and RBL Bank, along with participation from existing debt provider Alteria Capital, the start-up said in a statement on Wednesday.
Founded in 2017 by Anindya Dutta and Sandeep Dalmia, Stanza Living offers fully-managed accommodation services for students and working professionals with an inventory of more than 75,000 beds across 23 cities in India. Dalmia is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and IIM Ahmedabad.
Prior to Stanza, he was a Principal at Boston Consulting Group. Dutta was previously a real estate investor with Oaktree Capital and prior to that, he worked at Goldman Sachs in London. He is also an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad.
Stanza Living’s services include a wide range of amenities like chef-curated F&B options, professional housekeeping and laundry, high-speed internet, 24×7 security systems, recreation facilities, community programmes, mobility services and more.
The start-up has raised close to $220 million in equity and debt financing to date from marquee global investors like Alpha Wave Incubation, Equity International, Falcon Edge Capital, Sequoia India, Matrix and Accel Partners.
Stanza Living will use the proceeds from the current financing round to fund capital expenditure for Stanza Living’s current and future projects and accelerate the company’s multi-city expansion plan. Earlier last year, the start-up has also secured a large $100 million equity funding round, making it one of the most funded co-living companies in the space alongside other brands like Zolo Stays, Colive and Nestaway.
“This debt raise is a result of our prudent financial management and disciplined planning to stay ahead of short term market challenges. It will provide us with ammunition to deliver a higher return on equity and continue aggressively scaling our operations across the country,” Anindya Dutta, MD and co-founder, Stanza Living said in a statement.
Stanza Living is one of the many start-ups that managed to endure the pandemic’s impact on the online realty sector. With a substantial debt raise and access to institutional debt capital at such an early stage, the start-up plans to expand to newer cities in the coming months.
Recently, Stanza Living also launched a new business vertical in the form of campus facility management on the back of inbound interest from large academic institutions and corporate houses, as well.
The co-living sector in India has witnessed a multi-fold increase in demand for reliable, high-quality and safe accommodation options, especially in the wake of the pandemic. With the increasing adoption of hybrid work and study models, the sector continues to attract investor interest.
