Travel Food Services IPO: Shares drop 2% after positive debut 

Shares of Travel Food Services, the operator of quick-service restaurants and airport lounges in India and Malaysia, debuted with modest gains on Monday. The stock listed at ₹1,126.20 on the BSE, a premium of 2.3% over its initial public offering (IPO) issue price of ₹1,100. On the NSE, it started trading at ₹1,125, up 2.27% over the issue price.

After listing, Travel Food Services shares gained as much as 2.56% to hit a high of ₹1,128.90 on the BSE, while it dropped as much as 4.6% from the day’s high level to slip to a low of ₹1,076.60. At the time of reporting, the stock was trading at ₹1,084.05, down 1.45% over the IPO price, with a market capitalisation of ₹14,274 crore.

The listing of Travel Food Services was in line with Street estimates as the stock was commanding grey market premium (GMP) of ₹25 in the unlisted market, indicating listing to be around ₹1,125, up 2.27% over the allotment price.

The ₹2,000 crore IPO of Travel Food Services, which opened for bidding between July 7 and July 9, was subscribed 2.88 times. The issue received bids of 3.86 crore shares against the offered 1.34 crore equity shares, at a price band of ₹1,045-1,100, according to the data available with the stock exchanges.

The quota reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIB) was subscribed 7.70 times, while portions set aside for non-institutional investors (NII) and retail investors were booked 1.27 times and 0.69 times, respectively. The employee reserved portion was subscribed 1.72 times.

The IPO was entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 1.82 crore shares, meaning all proceeds from the issue will go to the selling shareholders, and not the company.

Travel Food Services, a leading player in the Indian airport food and beverage (F&B) and lounge services sector, made a modest debut on the bourses, listing at a slight premium to its IPO price. Established in 2007, Travel Food Services operates across major airports in India, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, and also runs quick service restaurants (QSRs) along nine highways in India.

It offers a wide range of F&B formats tailored to the needs of travellers, with a portfolio of 127 partner and in-house brands as of March 31, 2025. It holds a 26% market share in India’s airport travel QSR segment and a 45% share in the airport lounge segment, according to a Crisil report mentioned in the DRHP.

The company has a presence at 14 Indian airports, including major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, as well as three airports in Malaysia and one in Hong Kong. Its lounge services cater primarily to premium travelers, credit/debit cardholders, and loyalty programme members.

On the financial front, Travel Food Services’ revenue from operations increased by 20.87% to ₹1,687.74 crore in FY25 from ₹1,396.32 crore in FY24, attributable to an increase in like for like sales growth and net contract gains. Profit for the fiscal increased by 27.35% to ₹379.66 crore as compared to ₹298.12 crore in FY24.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Ltd, ICICI Securities Ltd and Batlivala & Karani Securities India Private Ltd, were the book-running lead managers, and MUFG Intime India Private Ltd was the registrar of the issue.

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