Quess Corp’s three-way demerger to drive focused growth, tap high-growth sectors: Chairman Ajit Isaac

Can you walk us through Quess Corp’s funding journey—from your initial capital to your IPO and subsequent acquisitions?

We started with ₹140- 144 crore of capital before the IPO. With that, we build the company and eventually went for an IPO in 2016, raising about ₹400 crore of capital. We had a return on equity of about 26 per cent, so the markets reacted positively, with our shares being oversubscribed by 147 times. In the 13th month post-IPO, we went back to the markets and raised another ₹874 crore through an Institutional Placement Programme (IPP). Altogether, we raised ₹1,274 crore. That capital allowed us to transition from being a general staffing company to a multi-segment business through acquisitions like Tata Business Support Services, AllSec, and MFX. These three acquisitions, made at a cost of ₹713 crore, now generate close to ₹450 crore of EBITDA.

How did these acquisitions influence your diversification strategy?

These formed the base for what is now known as Digitide. It’s an example of capital allocation—using IPO proceeds to build a new line of business. We also developed our infraservices platform, which now includes industrial asset maintenance, telecom tower maintenance, facilities management, security services, and food & beverage. That business alone is now worth ₹3,000 crores in revenue.

What is the rationale behind splitting the business into three verticals?

We’re giving shareholders the choice to invest in the business they prefer, instead of a conglomerate structure that usually attracts a 20–25 per cent valuation discount. The staffing business (Quess) is now a cash-generating, dividend-paying company. Digitide is a tech-focused, high-margin growth business. BlueSpring is our moonshot arm for emerging platforms. Each has a different risk and return profile.

Is there a long-term plan to divest any of these businesses?

Not at all. These businesses are for keeps. Fairfax, our investor, uses proprietary capital and has no mandate to return funds. I personally have no plans to exit. The staffing business is close to my heart, and we’re even eyeing global leadership in headcount.

What are some of your international expansion plans?

We employ 2,000 people in Singapore, and Middle East. We are looking at USA, Continental Europe, and Japan as our next bets, as they are world’s top staffing markets. We’re planning small, bolt-on acquisitions in those regions using our strong balance sheet.

Where are you personally investing your time and attention?

I’ve been non-executive chair for five years, but I’m available to the CEOs round the clock. That said, BlueSpring and Digitide take more of my time. BlueSpring is an entrepreneurial platform—it’s building something that doesn’t exist yet in India. These are high-potential but still informal businesses.

The infra services space is closely tied to government policy. Doesn’t that expose Blue Spring to higher risk?

Only about ₹600 crores of our ₹3,200 crore in Blue Spring revenue is from areas potentially affected by government policy. The rest—facilities management, security services, food & beverage—is largely insulated and tied to private sector demand, especially manufacturing, healthcare, and education.

Is Quess Corp exploring new sectors like contract manufacturing?

Yes, but with caution. We want to remain capital-light. We’re working on an innovative model in the non-ferrous metals sector where we might run an entire plant for a client. If it proves viable, we’ll expand from there.

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