Elevate Campuses
IPO Size: Rs. 2,100 cr, entirely Fresh Issue
- Rs. 1,100 cr for funding equity value of business to be acquired at Rs. 1,825 cr enterprise value from promoter group, essentially giving them an exit
- Rs. 750 cr debt repayment of Rs. 4,120 cr gross debt, as of 31.3.26
- Unidentified acquisition and general corporate purposes
Price band: Rs. 343-362 per share
M cap: Rs. 6,101 cr, implying a heavy 34% dilution
- 75% to institutional investors and only 10% for retail, as net tangible assets were less than Rs. 3 cr in past fiscals
IPO Date: Wed 23rd Sep to Fri 25th Sep 2026, Listing Wed 30th Sep 2026
Grey Market Premium (GMP): We are strongly against ‘grey market premium’ as it is an unofficial figure, against SEBI guidelines.
Student Accommodation Operator
Elevate Campuses is an 8-year-old Mumbai-based company, owned by Hillhouse Investment, providing student housing on college campuses, with a portfolio of 78,542 beds as of 15.6.26, of which 20,368 are owned beds and 55,487 managed beds. Company also has two K-12 assets.
It has grown via acquisitions, having acquired ScholarZ on 11.4.2025, Elevate UAE Assetco on 23.9.25 and Student Housing 11 from OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, on 23.3.26.
Double Digit Net Margin
FY26 revenue stood at Rs. 569 cr with EBITDA of Rs. 405 cr and 67% EBITDA margin, as occupancy remained high at 89%. Including FY26 exceptional gain of Rs.105 cr, PAT was reported at Rs. 174 cr.
However, excluding exceptional gain and other income, FY26 net profit is about Rs. 48 cr, implying 8.5% net margin.
Capex Heavy Business
Due to upfront cost of acquiring the asset, company’s need for capital is quite large. This leads to very high debt of Rs. 4,100 cr as of 31.3.26, and a low return ratio, both adjusted RoE (7%) and RoCE (8%).
Company has raised over Rs. 1,700 cr till date, including Rs. 1,050 cr to fund acquisitions, implying a capex heavy business. Yet net profit from operations is barely Rs. 50 cr, implying a single digit RoE.
Elevated Pricing
M cap of Rs.6,100 cr and Enterprise value of Rs. 9,860 cr leads to an EV/bed of Rs. 12.5 lakh and an EV/EBITDA of 16x on FY26 proforma EBITDA of Rs. 617 cr (after factoring in the proposed acquisition too). While there are no exact listed peers, these multiples feels expensive for single digit RoE and a leveraged balance sheet (post IPO net debt to equity of 1.2:1), despite healthy margins.
