Subway India Operator EverBrands Files DRHP to Raise Rs 600 Crore, as Losses Widen Despite Revenue Growth
EverBrands India Limited, formerly known as Culinary Brands Private Limited, has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI for an IPO comprising a fully fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 600 crore, with no offer-for-sale component from existing shareholders. Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, ICICI Securities, and Nuvama Wealth Management are serving as the book-running lead managers, with MUFG as registrar.
Here's where the money is going. Of the total Rs 600 crore, Rs 326.85 crore is earmarked for setting up new Subway stores under the company-owned, company-operated model, while Rs 125 crore will go toward repaying or prepaying borrowings held by its wholly owned subsidiary, Culinary Brands India. The company may also raise up to Rs 120 crore through a pre-IPO placement, which would proportionally reduce the public issue size.
The business itself runs wider than just Subway. EverBrands operates 1,008 Subway stores across India as of March 31, 2026, while also running Lavazza coffee outlets, its own Fresh and Honest Cafe brand, and distributing Dilmah Tea nationwide. The numbers tell a story of real growth paired with widening losses, revenue climbed to Rs 966.17 crore in FY26 from Rs 716.06 crore in FY25, with the QSR vertical, essentially Subway, contributing Rs 693.09 crore, about 72% of total operating revenue, up sharply from Rs 480.38 crore and Rs 355.31 crore the two years before. EBITDA improved too, rising to Rs 98.13 crore from Rs 64.21 crore. But net loss also widened, from Rs 28.26 crore in FY25 to Rs 58.19 crore in FY26.
The ownership structure reflects some serious institutional backing. EverBrands Ventures Pte Ltd holds the largest stake at 57.78% on a fully diluted basis, followed by Norwest Capital at 16.48%, Shivanand Shankar Mankekar HUF at 5.83%, and Playbook India Fund II at 4.15%, with Enrich Agro Food Products and Bikramjit Singh Kandhari each holding 3.64%. Earlier this year, EverBrands had already raised $15 million from Playbook Partners for roughly a 5% stake, valuing the company's India operations at around Rs 2,600-2,800 crore.
The reality check here is straightforward, aggressive store expansion funded by IPO proceeds could deepen losses in the near term before new outlets prove their unit economics, and investors will be watching store-level profitability closely, not just top-line growth.
From sandwich chain to a public market contender, EverBrands' IPO bet is that scale will eventually catch up with cash burn.
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— Sandeep Raiza