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EFC (I) Limited, India’s fast-growing integrated serviced office / Co-working space operator, plans to triple its capacity – from 23,000 to 60,000 seats by March 2024. The company is already adding 10,000 seats during Q1FY24, riding strong institutional demand. 65% of the company’s billed seats account for the institutional segment, while the remaining 35% comprises the retail part. The company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (Stock code: 512008).

Commenting on the plans, Umesh Sahay, Founder & CEO, EFC (I) Limited, said, “India remains on course to emerge as a $5 trillion economy, riding on the demographic dividend, fast-changing geopolitical equations, insular consumption-driven economy and sustained push by the government for its ambitious Make In India vision. All these factors are driving vibrant opportunities for corporates and entrepreneurs alike. At EFC India, we have built an ecosystem comprising efficient, safe, well-designed and ergonomics-friendly workspaces – ranging from made-to-order offices to co-working solutions. Our expansion plan is based on our robust client relationships, sectoral expertise, marquee talent, integrated offerings and strong balance sheet. In the past six years, we achieved a scale of 23,000 seats, which we expect to nearly triple to around 60,000 within this year. In doing so, we intend to keep our profitability intact.”

Robust financial performance

Earlier this month, the company reported a total revenue of Rs 144.58 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2023, and a net profit of Rs 24.05 crore. EBITDA stood at Rs 39.23 crore, and EBITDA Margins stood at 27.1 per cent. At the same time, net profit margins stood at 16.6 per cent for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

"EFC’s strategy has been to achieve profitable growth by focusing on cost optimisation and margin protection. We are currently present in all the growth hubs of India and are ideally poised to profitably leverage the exponential growth imminent in the co-working space in India," added Umesh.

Pune-headquartered, EFC commands a presence in seven states spanning 35+ centres totalling 1.5 million+ sq. ft. area. The company’s enterprise workspace solutions are under the brand EFC, while co-working spaces are branded under Sprint. The key factor driving the planning and construction of each co-working facility includes affordability, ease of collaboration, strategic location and single-point billing to cover all expenses. EFC (I) offers Enterprise-office services to large corporates requiring 100+ seats at a single location. "Most of the Enterprise Services contracts are usually with a tenure of five years to be renewed after expiry," said Umesh.

Decoding the integrated ecosystem of EFC

Unlike other industry players, EFC offers comprehensive, end-to-end solutions to businesses in the area of office space management, which includes helping customers identify the right property, supporting in negotiation with property owners, furnishing and designing the property as per client specifications and carrying out ongoing management and maintenance functions on behalf of the client. WhiteHills Interior, a 51% subsidiary, provides interior design solutions backed by strong supply chain enablers in commercial and residential real estate segments.

The opportunity landscape

The concept of shared workspaces has gained significant momentum in the last six years, and currently, India is the second-largest co-Working market in the world. It is estimated that around 30-35 million sq. ft of flexible office stock is available across the country. Approximately 71% or 25 million sq. ft is from large operators. Further, close to 3.70 lakh flexi seats are currently spread across the country's major tier-I and tier-II cities.

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