Bengaluru-based coworking space provider BHIVE is in the process of raising Rs 200 crore ($25 million) in a pre-IPO round, with plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) next year to raise Rs 800 crore ($100 million).
“We have some debt which we want to retire through the pre-IPO round. This will help us de-leverage and invest heavily in human capital. We need senior leadership to step up our design, processes and customer experience as well,” said BHIVE’s founder and CEO Shesh Rao Paplikar.
The company is targeting a listing at a Rs 2,000 crore market cap, according to Paplikar.
Unlike many of its competitors, BHIVE is one of the few coworking firms to consistently report profitability. While the company has not yet filed its FY24 results, it claims to have achieved a profit of Rs 12.2 crore on revenue of Rs 186 crore, with an Ebitda of Rs 48.1 crore in FY23. In comparison, the company reported a profit of Rs 2.7 crore on revenue of Rs 105 crore, with an Ebitda of Rs 18.2 crore in FY22.
“In FY25, we expect to be close to the Rs 300-crore mark in terms of revenue, and also improve both profit and Ebitda,” Paplikar added.
Currently holding a 5% market share in coworking spaces in Bengaluru, BHIVE recently entered Mumbai and plans to expand aggressively into Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
The company has signed up for a capacity of around 2 million sq ft and aims to increase this to 2.8 million sq ft by the end of FY25. About 70% of its inventory consists of managed office spaces, a ratio it plans to maintain as it expands, Paplikar added.