Exclusive: Smartworks converts into public company

Co-working space solutions provider Smartworks has converted itself into a public company. This marks the company’s concrete step towards its planned initial public offering (IPO).

The board at Smartworks has approved the resolution to change the company’s status from private to public. Its name has now changed from Smartworks Coworking Spaces Private Limited to Smartworks Coworking Spaces Limited.

The development comes on the heels of Smartworks’s $20 million funding round from Keppel, Ananta Capital Ventures Fund I, and others.

Smartworks provides managed office spaces by leasing properties from real estate developers and subsequently subleasing them to enterprises or companies. The company has a presence across Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, and others.

As of March 2024, Smartworks has a presence in as many as 13 cities including Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Pune, and a portfolio of 41 centers spanning 8 million square feet.

To date, the co-working space firm has raised over $50 million, including a $25 million raise from the Singapore-based Keppel Land in 2019. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, NS Niketan LLP, which includes founder Neetish Sarda, among others, controls more than 45% stake in the company as of the last funding round.

Smartworks demonstrated robust financial growth, with its scale nearly doubling to Rs 744 crore in FY23. However, like many growth-stage companies, its losses also rose by 44% to Rs 101 crore during the same period. The company is yet to file its annual results for FY24.

In the co-working space, Awfis became the first Indian startup to get listed on the stock exchange. The Peak XV-backed firm was oversubscribed by more than 100x on the final day of bidding.