Dev Accelerator – A Premier Provider of Flexible Workspace Solutions

10 Sep 2025 , 04:10 PM

Dev Accelerator is a homegrown Indian company that offers flexible workspace solutions. It has scaled its centres to Tier 1 as well as Tier 2 cities since its launch in 2017, establishing a strong presence across managed offices and co-working spaces. The industry is witnessing a robust growth, driven by an ever increasing demand coming from both startups and larger companies in search of flexible, scalable office solutions.

The IPO is expected to enhance operational presence by funding capex and strengthening balance sheet.

 

Offer Details of the IPO:

• Total Offer Size: Up to INR 1433.5 million
• Fresh Issue: Up to INR 1433.5 million

Price Band: INR 56 to INR 61 per Equity Share

Book Running Lead Managers (BRLMs):

• Pantomath Capital Advisors Private Limited

Objectives of the IPO

• Repayment and/or pre-payment of certain borrowings, including redemption of non-convertible debentures: INR 350 million
• Fit-outs in the proposed centers: INR 731.16 million
• General corporate purposes: up to 25% of the gross proceeds

Flexible Workspace Industry – An Overview

Flexible workspace is a fast-growing business segment in India, with shared workspaces providing flexible office space for everyone from individuals to startups, SMEs and large corporates. The industry provides businesses with an array of services such as private offices, shared work areas, meeting rooms, virtual offices and other on-demand support services that facilitate business collaboration and cost reduction.

The industry can be divided into three main segments:

• Coworking Spaces: A co-working space is a community-based workspace, where freelancers, entrepreneurs and remote workers rent desk space. These are typically spaces for freelancers, small startups and small businesses, which provide such amenities as high-speed internet, meeting rooms and printers.
• Managed Offices: Fully-serviced, customisable offices that can accommodate larger companies and businesses – usually companies spanning 200-500 employees.
• Serviced Offices: Fully furnished, manned and equipped space – great for small businesses. Typically most clients will have access to reception service, main business lounge as well as meeting rooms.

 

Industry Size & Growth

The flex space market has expanded steadily in the major Indian cities. The operational flex-stock across top 7 cities stood at 79.1 million sq ft, equivalent to approximately 7.3% of the overall office stock. Bengaluru has the highest penetration and even exceeds global standards.

Tech-centric cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai have more than 72% of the operational flex stock. Bengaluru is leading with about 36% followed by Delhi NCR at 17%. Cities such as Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai have outstripped Mumbai to become the next big markets in the top seven cities.

 

Key Drivers of Growth

The industry’s growth is driven by several factors:

• Rapid Scaling of Players: Existing operators are expanding quickly, and new entrants are bringing innovative business models.
• Rising Demand for Managed Spaces: Larger deals are becoming more common, with the share of deals for more than 500 seats growing from 31% in 2020 to 40% in 2024.

Corporate Flexibility: Corporate tenants in markets looking for a way to optimize their portfolios.

• Gig Economy & Startups: The rise of the gig economy, growth of startups, and increased coworking adoption continue to boost flex space demand.
• Education Institutions: Educational users continue to become a greater portion of the flex and managed space demand picture as they expand into new markets without a long-term capital outlay.

Table: Key Segments

Segment	Current (historical) CAGR*	Future (forecast) CAGR*
Managed Office Spaces	62 % (FY 2023 → FY 2025)	≈55 % (FY 2025 → FY 2029)
Co‑working Spaces	38 % (FY 2023 → FY 2025)	≈30 % (FY 2025 → FY 2029)
Design & Execution	31 % (FY 2023 → FY 2025)	≈25 % (FY 2025 → FY 2029)
Facility‑Management & Other Services	18 % (FY 2023 → FY 2025)	≈15 % (FY 2025 → FY 2029)
Overall Flexible‑Workspace Market (India)	8 % (FY 2020 → FY 2024)	8.5 %–9 % (FY 2024 → FY 2029)

Source: RHP

 

Dev Accelerator Limited: A Leading Player in the Indian Flexible Workspace Industry

Dev Accelerator Limited is a rapidly growing provider of flexible workspace solutions in India. The company was founded in 2017 with a vision to revolutionize the way people work, establishing a strong presence in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets.

Dev Accelerator was founded in 2017 by Parth Naimeshbhai Shah, Umesh Satishkumar Uttamchandani, and Rushit Shardulkumar Shah. The founders, all experienced entrepreneurs with backgrounds in real estate and technology, identified an opportunity to provide flexible and customized workspace solutions to businesses of all sizes.

Operating Segments.

Dev Accelerator operates in the following segments:

• Managed Office Spaces: Customized office spaces for large businesses, including domestic companies and MNCs, with services such as design, fit-outs, and office management.
• Co-Working Spaces: Shared workspaces for individuals, start-ups, and SMEs, offering amenities like meeting rooms, conference rooms, and high-speed internet.
• Design and Build Services: Customized design and development of office spaces along with management services.
• Facility Management Services: Housekeeping, security, valet parking, and other facility management services for clients

Partnerships and Associations

Dev Accelerator has partnered with several leading companies to expand its offerings and reach, including:

• Scaleax Advisory Private Limited: Collaboration to provide IT/ITeS solutions to clients.
• Janak Urja Private Limited: Partnership to expand real estate presence in the Indian market.

Competitive Landscape

The company operates in a highly competitive flexible workspace industry. The major competitors in this space include. Following are some of the key competitors.

• WeWork India: A premium operator offering coworking, enterprise, and managed space solutions. They cater to clients of all sizes and have achieved profitability.
• Awfis: Provides coworking and managed spaces across multiple Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, with the highest number of operational centers.
• Smartworks: Leading provider of managed enterprise solutions in the top 7 cities, expanding to campus-style facilities.
• IndiQube: Offers mainly managed spaces across Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets, focusing on mid-sized facilities.
• Simpliwork: Managed workspace provider across all major Tier 1 cities.
• Redbrick: Specializes in custom-designed managed offices, with the maximum number of centers in Mumbai and Pune.

Strengths

• Leadership in Tier 2 Markets: Strong presence in Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur, Udaipur, and Vadodara, capturing growing demand in emerging cities.
• Experienced Promoters and Management Team: Over 21 years of cumulative industry experience, enabling effective strategy and execution.
• Customer-Centric Business Model: Fully customizable office spaces with zero capital expenditure, resulting in high occupancy (~88%).
• Technologically Advanced Offerings: Use of technology for seamless workspace management enhances client experience.

Weaknesses

• Dependence on Few Large Clients: A significant portion of revenue comes from a limited number of clients, which could impact financial stability if any major client reduces occupancy or exits.
• High Competition in Tier 1 Markets: Intense competition from established players in Tier 1 cities may limit growth and make market penetration challenging.
• Limited Geographic Presence: Operations are currently restricted to India, which constrains growth opportunities and exposes the company to domestic market risks.
• Scalability Challenges in Large Facilities: Expanding to very large or campus-style facilities requires additional capital, operational bandwidth, and management resources, which could affect execution.

Financial profile

Robust Revenue Growth: Dev Accelerator has witnessed a revenue CAGR of 47% from Fiscal 2024 to Fiscal 2025, with revenue from operations increasing to INR 1,588.75 million from INR 1,080.87 million. The growth is driven by expansion into new cities, increasing client base, and diversification of services, including design and execution, payroll management, and facility management services.

Improved Profitability: The company’s restated profit for Fiscal 2025 was INR 17.73 million, up from INR 4.37 million in Fiscal 2024, reflecting a strong profit CAGR. While the margins remain slim, efficient operations, cost management, and increased revenue have contributed to improved profitability.

 

Table: Peer Comparison Table

Name	Market Price( per Equity Share )	Revenue from Operations (₹ in million)	EPS Basic (₹)	EPS Diluted (₹)	P/E Ratio	RoNW (%)
Dev Accelerator Limited	61*	1,588.75	0.27*	0.27*	226	3.24
Awfis Space Solutions Ltd	589.35	12075.35	9.75	9.67	60.95	14.78
Smartworks Coworking Spaces Limited	457.55	13740.56	-6.18	-6.18	NA	-58.56
Indiqube Spaces Limited	219.38	10592.86	-7.65	-7.65	NA**	-28.69

Source: RHP; *  upper end of price band

Table: KPI Comparison

Company	Particulars	FY23	FY24	FY25	CAGR
Dev Accelerator Limited	Revenue from Operations (₹ mn)	699.11	1080.87	1588.75	51%
	EBITDA (₹ mn)	298.81	647.39	804.57	51%
	EBITDA Margin (%)	42.74%	59.90%	50.64%	–
	Restated Profit/(Loss) (₹ mn)	-128.30	4.37	17.73	–
	Restated Profit Margin (%)	-17.98%	0.39%	1.00%	–
	Total Equity (₹ mn)	12.22	287.88	547.86	–
	Capital Employed (₹ mn)	338.79	1292.95	1820.96	–
	Total Assets (₹ mn)	2824.22	4110.89	5403.76	–
	ROCE (%)	3.65%	17.31%	25.95%	–
	Debt / Equity (times)	27.17	3.51	2.39	–
	Operational Cities (No.)	9	11	11	–
	Operational Centers (No.)	17	25	26	–
	Super Built-up Area (Million sq ft)	0.63	0.81	0.84	–
	Number of Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	10165	12543	13759	–
	Number of Occupied Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	8218	10422	12054	–
	Occupancy rate in Operational Centers (%)	80.85%	83.09%	87.61%	–
Smartworks Coworking Spaces	Revenue from Operations (₹ mn)	5452.82	8488.19	12075.35	49%
	EBITDA (₹ mn)	1555.58	2454.10	4274.80	50%
	EBITDA Margin (%)	28.53%	28.91%	35.40%	–
	Restated Profit/(Loss) (₹ mn)	-466.37	-175.67	678.70	–
	Restated Profit Margin (%)	-8.24%	-2.01%	5.38%	–
	Total Equity (₹ mn)	1693.64	2514.31	4592.19	–
	Capital Employed (₹ mn)	1621.87	2787.26	4009.07	–
	Total Assets (₹ mn)	9306.05	13980.79	25069.84	–
	ROCE (%)	16.08%	27.05%	51.09%	–
	Debt / Equity (times)	0.06	0.13	0.05	–
	Operational Cities (No.)	16	17	18	–
	Operational Centers (No.)	119	160	208	–
	Super Built-up Area (Million sq ft)	3.50	4.80	6.90	–
	Number of Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	68203	95030	134121	–
	Number of Occupied Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	51140	67414	111378	–
	Occupancy rate in Operational Centers (%)	74.98%	70.94%	83.04%	–
Awfis Space Solutions Ltd	Revenue from Operations (₹ mn)	7113.92	10393.64	13740.56	39%
	EBITDA (₹ mn)	4239.98	6596.70	8572.64	41%
	EBITDA Margin (%)	59.60%	63.47%	62.39%	–
	Restated Profit/(Loss) (₹ mn)	-1010.46	-499.57	-631.79	–
	Restated Profit Margin (%)	-13.58%	-4.49%	-4.48%	–
	Total Equity (₹ mn)	314.66	500.07	1078.81	–
	Capital Employed (₹ mn)	3445.13	4249.81	4367.21	–
	Total Assets (₹ mn)	44735.03	41470.84	46508.54	–
	ROCE (%)	29.15%	61.34%	58.82%	–
	Debt / Equity (times)	16.38	8.55	3.69	–
	Operational Cities (No.)	12	13	15	–
	Operational Centers (No.)	39	39	46	–
	Super Built-up Area (Million sq ft)	6.16	8.00	8.99	–
	Number of Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	137564	163022	183613	–
	Number of Occupied Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	105568	130047	152619	–
	Occupancy rate in Operational Centers (%)	76.74%	79.77%	83.12%	–
Indiqube Spaces Limited	Revenue from Operations (₹ mn)	5797.38	8305.73	10592.86	35%
	EBITDA (₹ mn)	2366.90	2263.36	6165.42	48%
	EBITDA Margin (%)	40.83%	27.25%	58.20%	–
	Restated Profit/(Loss) (₹ mn)	-1981.09	-3415.08	-1396.17	–
	Restated Profit Margin (%)	-32.95%	-39.36%	-12.66%	–
	Total Equity (₹ mn)	-3081.01	1306.33	-31.11	–
	Capital Employed (₹ mn)	3045.99	2942.00	2133.26	–
	Total Assets (₹ mn)	29693.17	36679.13	46851.23	–
	ROCE (%)	-13.11%	-43.79%	81.12%	–
	Debt / Equity (times)	-2.02	1.26	-71.51	–
	Operational Cities (No.)	10	12	14	–
	Operational Centers (No.)	70	85	105	–
	Super Built-up Area (Million sq ft)	4.25	5.33	6.26	–
	Number of Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	94410	118530	139183	–
	Number of Occupied Seats in Operational Centers (No.)	79002	95076	118467	–
	Occupancy rate in Operational Centers (%)	83.68%	80.21%	85.12%	–

Source: RHP