This prop-tech startup turns profitable with revenues of Rs 220 crores in FY19; targets 100% growth in FY 2019-20

Square Yards, a proptech start-up, has announced that it clocked Rs 220 Crores (USD 32 Mn) revenues, with 11,500 transactions for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. Square Yards’ revenue from its real estate business grew by over 50% year on year and the company turned profitable at EBITDA level for the last quarter. With a Gross Transactional Value (GTV) of almost INR 5,000 Crores (~ USD 725Mn), the company is practically on the verge of becoming a handful of start-ups in India with USD 1 bn GTV.  On a monthly basis, Square Yards facilitates more real estate transactions than any other brokerage or developer in the country. Tanuj Shori, founder and CEO of Square Yards said, “Our strong results for the financial year 2018-19 and the fact that we turned profitable, reflect the robustness of our business model. We have nearly perfected our business playbook with strong processes, use of cutting-edge technology and a constant focus on bringing the best products to the customer. Now, we are focusing on scaling up the execution, by investing ahead of time, in people and technology.'' 

Indian real estate operations contributed 70% to the group’s overall revenue followed by international real estate with 20% while the remaining 10% came from the mortgage business. In the Indian real estate market, the company’s growth has been on the account of its control across the value chain along with its direct presence in over 25 prominent Indian and global cities. Square Yards continues to dominate the NRI sales segment and has expanded its presence to newer geographies like Kuwait & Bahrain.

The company is already RERA registered in 15 Indian States and homes built by grade A+ and grade A developers make up over 75% of its total sales volumes. In the Indian real estate market, the company is focused on the mid-range segment, where millennials buying their first home are a majority. ''We plan to double our workforce to over 5,000 people in the next two quarters and are targeting more than 100% growth in revenue for the new financial year. We are also investing heavily in new technology to create products for various stakeholders in the industry, especially in Enterprise Solutions; some of these products are expected to become pillars of the entire real estate and mortgage value chain,” added Shori. 

Square Yards’ international real estate arm (mainly global, under-construction primary segment) has been one of its fastest-growing businesses. It has recorded a 107% per cent growth in FY 2018-19 over the previous year, both in terms of Gross Transactional Value (GTV) and Revenue. Also, the company’s operations in Australia, Canada and Hong Kong are registering over 100% growth in transaction volumes and revenues, albeit with a small base.

Square Yards’ mortgages business arm, Square Capital has been on a steady growth path and has been able to significantly scale up volumes in a market. With 800 monthly transactions, it helps disburse around Rs 300 Cr (USD 45 mn) worth of mortgages every month. The company aspires to become the largest mortgage distributor in the country over the next 12 months.