Urban Company shares soar on market debut after heavily subscribed IPO

Urban Company's shares surged on their stock market debut on Wednesday, listing at more than a 57% premium to the IPO price, after drawing frenzied demand in the primary market. 

The Rs 1,900-crore public offering of the home services platform was subscribed 103.63 times between September 10 and 12, making it the most heavily subscribed share sale in India this year, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Shares opened at Rs 162.25 apiece on the NSE, a 57.52% premium over the issue price of Rs 103, while listing at Rs 161 on the BSE, a 56.31% premium. The company’s market capitalisation post-listing stood at Rs 23,118 crore. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 98–103 per share.

The strong debut outpaced grey market expectations of listing gains of about 52%. Ahead of the listing, shares were commanding a premium of Rs 51 in the unofficial market, according to investorgain.com.

The IPO comprised a fresh issue of 4.58 crore equity shares worth Rs 472 crore and an offer for sale of 13.86 crore shares worth Rs 1,428 crore. The company had earlier raised over Rs 854 crore from anchor investors. The IPO allotment was finalised on September 16.

Founded in 2014, Urban Company connects consumers to service professionals across categories such as beauty, cleaning, appliance repair, and home maintenance.