OxfordCaps to expand presence in India

Singapore-headquartered OxfordCaps Thursday said it aims to expand its presence in cities like Indore, Pune and Bengaluru from May onwards as it looks to cash in on the growing opportunity in the student housing segment in India.

OxfordCaps' platform allows university students to book ready-to-move-in student accommodation in Singapore and India (Delhi-NCR and Dehradun).

The company is also looking at cities like Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Coimbatore to expand its presence, a statement said.

"Keeping in mind the price-sensitive Indian students and their parents, we will be launching a new vertical - OxfordCaps Dorms by May 2019. There is a big section of the market which falls in the bracket of Rs 8,000-10,000 room rent per month, which we shall target and cater to without compromising on the quality of the living experience," OxfordCaps Founder and COO Priyanka Gera said.

According to a Jones Lang La salle (JLL) 2018report, there are approximately 34 million students in higher education institutions and these students relocate to a different city for higher education. However, only 10 per cent of these students manage to get accommodation provided by the university.

The unmet demand for student housing remains as high as 3060 per cent across the top Indian states, as per the report. The students are then forced to choose from options like PGs, apartments, etc.

In India, the concept of student housing is still at a formative stage. However, since the last one year, the market has been warming up to the whole idea and witnessing the growing scope of this as an important asset class, OxfordCaps Founder and CEO Annu Talreja said.

"Before the beginning of the new academic session, we aim to have our properties in the prominent education hubs across seven more cities of the country with a target to acquire more than 10,000 beds," Talreja added.