Exclusive: NoBroker in talks to raise $100 Mn in a new round

Online real estate rental startup NoBroker is in the market to raise funds. The Bengaluru-based company is in talks with a clutch of new and existing investors to raise $80 to $100 million, say two Entrackr sources. This comes after one and half years of the company’s last fundraise. 

“NoBroker is in mid-stage conversations with new and existing investors to raise up to $100 million in a new round,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “The company is likely to be valued over $750 million in this round.”

To be sure, the terms of the deal may change.

“General Atlantic, Tiger Global and two new investors will contribute more than 80% of the round while other existing investors will participate on a pro-rata basis,” said a second source who also wished not to be named. “NoBroker Pay is positioned as one of the major anchors for this fundraise,” the person added.

Incidentally, NoBroker Pay turned out to be a major revenue generator for the company during the financial year ended 2020. It contributed about 38% or Rs 23.8 crore of the company FY20’s total operating revenue. Launched at the end of FY19, NoBroker Pay allows tenants to pay their monthly rentals to landlords via UPI and credit cards.

Queries sent to NoBroker did not elicit a response at the time of publishing this article. We will update as and when they respond. 

NoBroker is also among the startups that quickly adapted itself to the new normal during the pandemic last year and added services to its platform accordingly. For instance, the company added new services such as painting and cleaning as they hoped to increase the user’s wallet share once they found a home. 

“They came up with a lot of different services — one was where people who wanted to rent a place didn’t have to physically go and see the house. NoBroker would arrange for someone to go and give them a virtual tour of the house,” said an investor in this space, requesting anonymity. “This worked very well because people were skeptical to visit multiple houses during the pandemic.” 

More recently, NoBroker through its subsidiary NoBrokerHood launched a neighborhood super app for gated communities where residents can launch a store through the mobile application and sell products. The company last raised a series of investments during the financial year 2020 with a $29 million investment from General Atlantic in April 2020.

NoBroker’s hasn’t filed its FY21 financials, but during FY20, as recently reported by Entrackr, the company saw its revenue from operations soar 250% in FY20 when compared to FY19. Assuming a similar momentum continued during the pandemic, NoBroker’s upcoming financial statements may also reflect growing numbers.