Multiples-backed Vastu Housing Finance looks to deepen presence beyond metros ahead of IPO

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BENGALURU : Vastu Housing Finance, which secured several rounds of funding last year, plans to deepen its presence in existing markets and enter new segments before it starts preparing for a public listing, co-founder Sandeep Menon told Mint in an interview. "Going public is part of our journey in building a long-term institutional franchise.

We want to do it patiently and in the right way," Menon said, without disclosing a timeline for the IPO. The company has been backed by leading institutional investors and senior bankers, including large domestic funds. Vastu was seeded by Renuka Ramnath-led Multiples PE, along with Pramod Bhasin, Vikram Gandhi and Samir Bhatia.

Other prominent shareholders include IFC, Prosus (Naspers), Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), TA Associates, Faering Capital, 360 One Asset Management, and Creation Investments. "Vastu, over time, aspires to achieve high levels of productivity and operating leverage by backing its talent pool, strengthening technology capabilities, and sustainably building a customer-centric franchise that can thrive through cycles," Menon said. Before joining Vastu, he had stints at Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank and GE Capital, among others.

Broadly, experts have said the next level of growth for the housing finance sector is likely to come from beyond the metros. "The real opportunity lies in the next 40 to 200-300 cities, where the urban-rural divide blurs. The opportunities in these areas revolve around the self-employed segment for individual houses, self-construction, and resale.