Gurugram-based hyperlocal service provider Urban Company is the latest startup to join the unicorn club, as the company is said to be valued at $2 Bn in its latest $188 Mn Series F funding round. The latest investment was led by Prosus.
According to the ministry of corporate affairs filings, Urban Company has allotted 2,613 equity shares and 50,490 Series F preference shares at an issue price of INR 265,553.1 per share to raise INR 1,410.2 Cr ($188 Mn).
Prosus led the round with $61.93 Mn (INR 464.53 Cr), while DF International and Wellington Management together infused close to $70 Mn (INR 522). DF International made an investment of $36.86 Mn (INR 275 Cr) and Wellington Management made an investment of $33.2 Mn (INR 248 Cr). The development was first reported by Entrackr, which estimates that the company is valued at $2 Bn (INR 14,615 Cr).
While it has not confirmed the $1 Bn+ valuation after the Series F, Urban Company had raised its Series E in 2019 at a valuation of $933 Mn. Urban Company had raised $75 Mn in Series E funding round led by Tiger Global with participation from existing investors Steadview Capital and Vy Capital in 2019. The company has raised over $370 Mn to date.
Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bahl, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company (formerly known as Urban Clap) is a home service company that focuses on beauty and massage, appliance repair, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning, and painting.
It is currently present in more than 10 Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune along with four international markets Australia, Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Last year, it rebranded itself to Urban Company, as it wanted a more globally acceptable brand name.
The company also rebranded its various verticals and made them sub-brands of Urban Company. Its home beauty vertical was split under the women-focused brand Urban Beauty, men’s grooming brand Urban Grooming and Urban Spa for at-home massages, while home improvements and repairs came under self-explanatory Urban Cleaning, Urban Repairs, Urban Painting sub-brands.
In the financial year 2020, the company had reported an operating revenue of INR 242 Cr as against INR 116 Cr in FY219, under the GAAP measures. In comparison under the IND-AS method, its operating revenue was INR 216 Cr in FY20 and INR 106 Cr in FY19. Overall, the company had reported a revenue of INR 256.4 Cr (IND-AS) with expenses of INR 394.2 Cr, leading to a loss of INR 137.8 Cr, in FY20.
The company claims that its operating model focuses on service professionals with the aim of turning them into micro-entrepreneurs, multiplying their earnings by 2-3 times. It has more than 30K service partners, with over 10K beauticians and hairdressers.
According to Fairwork India Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy, which ranks some of the prominent Indian companies based on the working conditions prevalent there for temporary workers, Urban Company was one of the best places to work for gig economy workers. The company ranks at the top with a score of 8 out of 10, where as Zomato, Swiggy and Uber scored a ranked at the bottom with 1 out of 10.
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