In hopes to cut costs and shore up liquidity amid a delay in funding, India’s most valued edtech company, Byju’s has vacated its largest office space in Bengaluru.
Besides this, the edtch has also given up a portion of another office space in the city, according to the sources.
Byju’s Vacating It’s Biggest Office Space
As of date, Byju’s has three office spaces in Bengaluru, including the 5.58 lakh square feet property in Kalyani Tech Park that it has vacated.
At least six employees confirmed that the company has asked the employees to work out of its other premises or from their homes from July 23.
Apart from this the edtch has also given up two out of nine floors it had in Prestige Tech Park.
A spokesperson for Byju’s said, “Byju’s has over 3 million square feet of rented spaces across the country to support its requirements. Expansion and reduction in office space is based on changes in working policies and business priorities which is very regular and is aimed at boosting operational efficiencies.”
Earlier, Byju’s took two buildings – Magnolia and Ebony – in Kalyani Tech Park in Brookfield on lease during June last year.
Last month, it vacated Magnolia, shifting the employees to Ebony.
All the employees were asked to work from Prestige Tech Park and its main office on Baneghatta Main Road, sources said.
The development is confirmed by the security personnel at Kalyani Tech Park adding the company is planning to exit Ebony by August.
It appears that Byju’s had leased five floors in Magnolia and six floors in Ebony.
The company vacated four out of the six floors in Ebony last week, and will give up the rest by August, confirmed by the employees and security officials.
It seems that the edtch had leased these spaces with a lock-in period of three years.
Saving Cost Under Financial Stress
With this move of vacating the leased office space of about 5.58 lakh sq ft, Byju’s will save close to Rs 3 crore on monthly rent.
This holds a significance as it highlights the financial stress at the country’s most-valued unicorn, which is tackling multiple problems, including a tussle with lenders.
In the meantime, the edtch has been eyeing an over $700 million fund infusion since the start of the year.
Unfortunately, the company has not been able to close it.
Byju’s had come under the scanner of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) over non-payment of PF dues last month.
This was another instance highlighting cash flow issues for the company.
The company has paid provident fund (PF) only for 738 employees in June, despite agreeing with the EPFO to clear payments before July 15.
