Elevate Campuses IPO

It is India's largest institutional student housing provider, managing 75,855 beds, including 20,368 owned beds and 55,487 managed beds. This is 2.1 times the capacity of its nearest competitor, giving it a strong market presence, better operating efficiency, and greater bargaining power with vendors.

It maintained an 89.37% occupancy rate across its owned beds in fiscal 2026, which rose to 98.44% after excluding two specific facilities. This is above the national average of 85% to 90%, pointing to strong student demand across its university partner locations.

Its revenue is supported by long-term contracts with universities and school operators that include minimum occupancy guarantees and pre-agreed annual price increases. Its school leases also follow a triple-net model, where operators bear maintenance, tax, and insurance costs, making the company's rental income more predictable.

It earns strong annual fees per student across its key owned campuses, generating ₹2,18,000 per student at O.P. Jindal Global University and ₹170,790 per student at Manipal University Jaipur in fiscal 2026. This higher pricing helps drive strong revenue from its owned hostels.

It collects student accommodation and mess fees upfront, either every six months or annually, while school lease rentals are collected quarterly in advance. This means cash comes in before the related services are delivered, creating a negative working capital cycle and helping maintain strong liquidity with lower credit risk.

It operates across 24 locations in India and has also expanded into Dubai, UAE, with school assets such as Hartland International School. This wider presence reduces dependence on any one regional market and gives it access to international education markets and higher-income customer groups.

It had substantial net debt of ₹2,712.90 crore as of March 31, 2026, with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.98x (or 6.23x excluding gains from asset sales). This high debt means large interest payments and leaves the company with less financial flexibility.

It plans to use ₹1,100 crore, or 52.38% of its gross IPO fresh issue proceeds, to buy 16 school properties from sub-companies owned by its promoters. Since these are related-party transactions, they carry potential conflict-of-interest and valuation risks for investors.

A large part of its revenue depends on a few education partners. O.P. Jindal Global University alone contributed ₹210.22 crore, or 36.97% of total operating revenue, in fiscal 2026. Its top three university partners together contributed 61.46% of revenue, making the business more exposed to disruptions at these institutions.

Its return on adjusted capital employed fell from 9.72% in fiscal 2024 to 6.42% in fiscal 2026. In simple words, the company is generating less profit from the capital it has invested, suggesting that its recent property investments have not translated into the same level of returns.

Its business relies on long-term agreements that can be ended early in cases such as poor service or regulatory non-compliance, along with fixed lease periods. If major leases are not renewed or are terminated early, the company could lose guaranteed revenue while its properties remain vacant.

Its growth plans include developing new projects on undeveloped land, which brings risks such as construction delays, higher costs, and delays in regulatory approvals. Some land deeds also restrict the properties to student accommodation, limiting the company's ability to use or monetize them differently if demand changes.