Warburg Pincus buys HDFC's stake in Goldman Sachs-backed Good Host Spaces

Good Host Spaces was initially backed by Goldman Sachs and HDFC Ltd.

Good Host Spaces Pvt Ltd,  India’s leading owner and operator of purpose-built, on-campus student housing assets, announced that Baskin Lake Investment Ltd, an affiliate of top global private equity Warburg Pincus, has become a significant shareholder in the firm through acquisition of HDFC Ltd’s 24.48 percent stake along with a primary investment in the company.

Existing shareholders Goldman Sachs and Baskin Lake will support the future growth of Good Host by investing additional capital to fund the company’s growth objectives.

Since its establishment in September 2017 as India’s first on-campus student housing platform, Good Host has grown rapidly to become India’s largest owner and operator of student accommodation assets, operating approximately 18,000 beds at highly ranked universities, such as Manipal University, OP Jindal Global University and Shoolini University. The company is also in conversations with several other prestigious institutes in India to expand its portfolio to 50,000 beds in the near term.

The new National Education Policy will further improve the global competitiveness of Indian universities, which in turn will require high-quality, professionally managed student housing facilities. This natural evolution will result in significant growth of this asset class as seen in other developed countries,  it added.

Commenting on the investment from Warburg Pincus, Good Host CEO Nimesh Grover said: "We are delighted to welcome Warburg Pincus as a new investor in the company. We look forward to working closely with them and leveraging their global experience in creating market-leading real estate platforms. Good Host is confident that with Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus as our shareholders, our company will further strengthen its leadership position in this space and bring many more partner universities and students into our platform."

Good Host has had a remarkable journey since its inception, from introducing the business model of operating student accommodation in partnership with universities in India, to scaling this platform to become the country’s largest student accommodation provider.

Good Host Spaces was set up by Nimesh Grover and Stanley D’britto in September 2017. It was initially backed by Goldman Sachs and HDFC Ltd and has a presence in five cities.

Warburg Pincus has invested over $4 billion in Asian real estate companies, helping build successful businesses and leading brands such as Embassy Industrial Parks, Lemon Tree Hotels, Weave Living, ARA Asset Management, Princeton Digital Group, Vincom Retail, 7 Days Inn, ESR, Mofang Apartments and Nova.