LEAP India to raise Rs 100 crore via debt to fund expansion

"We have invested Rs 110 crore equity raised in the last three years and Rs 70 crore debt raised in manufacturing and deploying of pallets and Foldable Large Containers (FLC).

We are now raising another Rs 100 crore debt from banks to take the current pallet count from 1 million to 3 million in the next three years," LEAP India managing director Sunu Mathew said in a statement here.

"We are aiming to garner a significant market share in the asset pooling space, which otherwise has been a highly fragmented and unorganised market," Mathew said.

Earlier, the company had raised funding from Mayfield and Rishabh Mariwala. The company also saw participation from new investors, like IndiaNivesh Growth Fund, Sixth Sense and TCI Ventures.

Post GST, the requirement for consolidated and large warehouses to store the goods and distribute across the country has become a necessity. The need for having separate warehouses in each state is history. In the age of vertical storage of goods, pallets play major role in efficient storage and transportation of goods.

The current size of the pallets market in the country stands at Rs 5,000 crore. We are currently eyeing for Rs 100 crore revenue for the current year. By end of 2022, with 4.5 million pallets deployed in the market, our market share will be at 60 per cent and turnover will reach Rs 600 crore, Mathew said.

There is huge export market waiting to be tapped. Once we gain considerable market share in India, we would enter other nearby markets, he added.

"Foldable Large Containers (FLC) is another segment of our business, which currently contributes 40 per cent of our business. These are currently used by automobile and pharma sectors. This pie is also growing over a period of time. The rapid growth in automobile sector in the country will increase the need for transport of spare parts, which will in turn spur growth for FLCs. The two wheeler production is set to rise to 34 million and passenger vehicle market would reach 10 million by 2020," he said.

LEAP, founded in July 2013, has seen good growth in asset deployment and is fast expanding its customer base, pan-India network and technological capability in the business of renting and pooling wooden pallets and foldable large containers.

LEAP caters to both Indian companies and MNCs in the FMCG, consumer durable, beverages and auto space.