YourShell, a leading student accommodation brand in Delhi NCR, announced today that they have been acquired by Stanza Living - India’s largest managed accommodation company. The two companies have been in talks since late last year, culminating now in a deal. Established by Delhi University students; YourShell is among the youngest startups to raise venture debt under the Government of India’s StandUp India program. They were also an operationally profitable business across their 18 properties, at the time of deal.
YourShell was launched in 2017 with 145 beds to provide easy to book, serviced, and affordable rental homes to students within the coveted North campus area of Delhi University. Currently, they have over 600 beds in 18 properties.
Talking about the acquisition, Shaifali Jain, Co-founder, YourShell said “We have been closely following Stanza Living’s journey and admired their operational expertise and how they have scaled their business pan-India. When we learnt that they were looking at strategic acquisitions for growth, we believed it was the ideal time to pass on the reigns to the experienced team at Stanza Living and become a part of their rapid-scale story.” Shaifali Jain comes from a business background and credits her success to the support of her father Mr. Bhushan Kumar Jain.
Apart from high-quality residences, YourShell was much-appreciated for delivering a robust service support system for handling student grievances along with an exciting array of value-added features including a library, gaming zone, career counseling sessions and internship guidance. The team considers their strong resonance with the student community as their USP.
Sunny Garg, Co-founder & CEO, YourShell said, “As students ourselves, we had seen the primitive condition of student housing options in the city from close quarters. YourShell was launched to revolutionize the daily living experience of students through a high-quality product built around convenience and choice. Over the last couple of years, we have not only built a strong brand preference among the student community, but established a solid, hyper-growth business. The success of our venture has stoked the entrepreneur in us and we are now moving on in search of the next big idea.” Sunny Garg dropped out of his admission from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad in the early days of his startup and similarly today after the sale of the company, he is determined to choose entrepreneurship over an MBA. Sunny and Shaifali are launching another company together and aspire to create a unicorn.
The professional student housing segment has been on an upward surge in the last few years, attracting global investors and large-scale real estate partners. As the market matures, consolidation of local operators and acquisitions by leading players are expected to become more frequent. In the wake of the pandemic, industry confidence in growth of the sector also continues to be high, guided by gradual reopening of educational institutes, expected upsurge in demand for upskilling and higher education opportunities against the backdrop of a subdued job market and rising consumer preference for safety, convenience and quality of living options.
A Govt. of India recognized startup YourShell (Lofty Ventures Pvt. Ltd.) provides easy to book, better serviced and affordable rental homes to students within the campus and thrives on building a robust support system for handling student grievances. Established in late 2017, YourShell also offers an exciting set of value-added features to students including a library, gaming zone, career counseling sessions and internship guidance.
Stanza Living (www.stanzaliving.com) is India’s largest managed accommodation company, offering dedicated living solutions for students and working professionals for an inventory of 55,000+ beds across 14 cities. A tech enabled managed living concept, Stanza Living delivers world-class living experiences built on a wide array of amenities and services for convenient living and operated by a professional team. The company is backed by marquee global investors like Equity International, Falcon Edge Capital, Sequoia India, Matrix Partners, Accel Partners and Alteria Capital. Stanza Living was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in New Delhi, India.