2025 For Urban Company: New Verticals, New Realities, New Pressures |
After a journey of nearly a decade, Urban Company expanded its wings beyond services to enter the products space sometime around 2022 and 2023. This initial push towards diversification gained momentum in 2025, as the company sharpened its focus on building its own product portfolio.
As Inc42 reported earlier this year, Urban Company began exploring its own line of air conditioners under its ‘Native’ brand. While this has not materialised yet, the turn from services to a products company is not over. In fact, in 2025, Urban Company doubled down on services before it went public.
First, it launched Revamp, a new home improvement brand offering one-day small-space makeovers across major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, further broadening its revenue streams. The company also joined the quick commerce wave with Insta Help. By the time it entered the public markets, Urban Company had managed to convince many that it still had a long growth runway ahead.
The market responded positively. As the first established startup of its kind to go public, Urban Company had no listed peer for direct comparison, one of the key factors behind the strong investor enthusiasm surrounding the issue.
The IPO saw an oversubscription of nearly 104X, with robust demand from institutional, HNI, and retail investors alike. The stock made a strong debut on September 17, listing at INR 161 on the BSE, 56.3% above its issue price. On the NSE, it opened at INR 162.25 per share, marking a premium of 57.5% over the issue price of INR 103.
That said, the journey has not been entirely smooth. Urban Company wound down its step-down subsidiary in Saudi Arabia after it struggled to achieve profitability, as disclosed in its DRHP. At the same time, the company has been navigating intensifying competition from newer startups such as Snabbit and Pronto in the Insta Help segment, which has also added to operating costs.
The company said in its earnings call that this new segment reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of INR 44 Cr. Adding to the pressure, Urban Company slipped back into losses after just over a year of maintaining profitability. Unsurprisingly, the stock has faced selling pressure since listing and is down 25.16%, according to exchange data.
Overall, Urban Company closed 2025 with several strategic wins, while also encountering the realities and scrutiny that come with being a publicly listed company.
IPO And The Profitability Trade-Off
The diversification push has once again nudged Urban Company back into losses, underlining the delicate balance it is trying to strike as a newly listed company. FY25 marked a turning point, as Urban Company reported profitability for the first time after years of operating losses, a milestone that significantly strengthened its IPO narrative.
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