Elevate Campuses eyes partnership with public and international universities amid muted listed

Elevate Campuses is targeting a significant expansion in India's 2.5 million-bed on-campus student accommodation market following its muted stock market debut, according to Chief Executive Officer Narasimha Jayakumar. The education infrastructure provider listed at a discount of nearly 2% to its issue price after its ₹2,100 crore initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed just under two times.

The IPO proceeds are earmarked for debt repayment and the acquisition of assets from the promoter group. Despite the soft listing, Jayakumar outlined a robust expansion strategy driven by a massive demographic tailwind and an underserved market.

Elevate currently owns and manages approximately 78,000 beds, comprising 22,000 to 23,000 owned beds and 55,000 to 56,000 managed beds. Following a recent consolidation, the company also holds about 18 schools. Over the past three years, the firm has delivered a revenue compound annual growth rate of 20% and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 26%.

Growth Vectors

Jayakumar identified three primary growth vectors for the business: partnering with private universities for student accommodation, forming public-private partnerships with eminent public universities, and catering to international universities setting up operations in India, noting that 21 such institutions have already been approved.

"We believe that this is a very underserved market and we are right at the start of it," Jayakumar said. "If you look at the on-campus opportunity, roughly the market size is about 2 and a half million beds. We have a tiny market share and we would want obviously a sizable market share."



The company's managed beds segment, which is asset-light and accretive to the return on capital employed, is expected to scale up rapidly. Elevate currently maintains an occupancy rate of close to 90% across its facilities. Because the company operates directly on campuses in partnership with leading universities, Jayakumar expects this occupancy level to be maintained or grow as demand for on-campus housing outpaces off-campus alternatives.

India has more than 58,000 universities, including nearly 1,000 private institutions of sufficient size and scale. Elevate currently has relationships with over 17 institutions and is in talks with several more to expand its footprint.

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Among its immediate projects, the company is beginning construction on a greenfield, purpose-built student accommodation facility in Chennai that will add more than 1,800 beds. Elevate is also exploring opportunities with foreign universities that have recently launched academic calendars in India, including five institutions in Mumbai.

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