Urban Company lists at 62 per cent premium to IPO price

MUMBAI: Urban Company made a blockbuster debut on the bourses on Wednesday, listing at a 62 per cent premium to the IPO issue price of Rs 103 on the NSE, underlining high investor appetite for India’s up-and-coming newage home services space.

The company’s shares surged 74 per cent in the trading session to hit day’s high of Rs 179, settling 62 per cent higher at Rs 167. The company listed at a valuation of about $3 billion, marking the best opening day for a major company that debuted on the exchanges this year. Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that the listing gains notched up by the startup made for the biggest first-day rally among all Indian IPOs sized $100 million or
above.

Urban Company’s Rs 1,900-crore IPO was subscribed more than 100 times, the most subscribed issue of the year so far, having already set the pitch for a robust listing. Backed by blue chip investors such as Prosus and Accel, the over a decade year old Gurgaonbased startup offers a range of home and salon services.

Consumer demand for home services jumped during Covid, helping growth of the company. The startup’s investors are sitting on huge gains post the listing with its first institutional investor Accel making returns of nearly 45 times (at closing price) on its initial investment in the firm.