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Co-living operator Stanza Living on Thursday said it will offer ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) to its over 800 employees and has allocated Rs 35 crore towards this initiative.

In a statement, the company announced a new full-scale ESOPs plan for all employees. It will cover over 800 employees across its network, including corporate teams and ground-operations staff in this plan.

“Stanza Living has set up an allocation pool of Rs 35 crore towards this effort,” the statement said.

Anindya Dutta, Managing Director and Co-founder of Stanza Living, said, “Over the past few years, we have established ourselves as the leading player in the managed accommodation sector. As we grow, we want to recognise and reward every employee across the organization who has contributed to our journey.”

Stanza Living also plans to create an ESOP-linked rewards and recognitions programme from the pool.

“We are establishing a tradition of recognising exemplary employees for their hardwork and commitment through a top-up ESOP plan, beyond their compensation increments.

“With the additional allocation, they will have the opportunity to strengthen their shareholding in the company and continue growing with us,” he added.

Since its launch in 2017, Stanza Living has scaled from 100 beds to close to 65,000 beds across 16 cities.

The company has raised over $170 million in capital, including its most recent Series D fundraise in April this year. The company is backed by marquee global investors like Equity International, Alpha Wave Incubation, Falcon Edge Capital, Sequoia India, Matrix, Accel Partners, and Alteria Capital.

“Despite the headwinds of the pandemic, the company continued to hold course and grow a portfolio of business verticals, including student housing, coliving for working professionals, third-party hostel facility management and more,” Stanza Living said.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-living segment, which includes student housing and accommodations for working professionals, has been badly impacted because of the closure of educational institutions and the adoption of work from home policy by corporates.