IPO Watch: Airtasker is now ASX listed; shares gain 70pc on debut

Nine years after its founding, Australian tech icon Airtasker (ASX:ART) is now an ASX listed company.

Airtasker is a platform connecting people and businesses needing tasks to be done with people that can complete them.

It boasts a market place of 4.3 million people and a platform that creates a new work opportunity approximately every 17 seconds.

Shares debuted on the ASX after raising $83.65 million worth of shares at 65 cents per share.

Upon the commencement of trading shares rose to $1.10 – a 70 per cent premium.

Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price chart

What now for Airtasker?

Airtasker hopes the proceeds from its ASX IPO will continue to drive user acquisition, use of the platform and expand its global reach.

The company began in Australia and in recent years has expanded into the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore. It is forecasting gross marketplace volume (GMV) of $143.7 million in FY21 – up from $113.2 million in FY20.

Airtasker founder & CEO Tim Fung noted that the ASX IPO was over five times oversubscribed and demand from the Tasker community and Airtasker staff exceeded expectations by 10 times.

“We have an incredible foundation to build from and we’re excited to be taking our new shareholders on an exciting journey to fulfill Airtasker’s mission: to empower people to realise the full value of their skills,” he said.

Airtasker another ‘gig economy platform’ on the ASX

Platforms such as Airtasker as well as Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit have given rise to a new type of work known as “gig work” which sees people employed through these platforms rather than being employed directly by the platforms.

Airtasker cited a study estimating by 2025 such markets can add US$2.7 trillion to global GDP through factors such as increased labour market participation and increased productivity.

In Australia in 2020 Airtasker was the most commonly used by so-called “platform workers” with 34.8 per cent having used it – higher than Uber which only has 22.7 per cent.

In 2019 13.1 per cent of Australians aged 18-74 had earned an income through a platform at some point in time and 7.1 per cent had in the last 12 months.

It is estimated by Airtasker that the Total Addressable Market for “Local Services” is $52.3 billion – 6.8 per cent of total household spending in Australia.

Two categories – housing repairs and maintenance as well as transportation and delivery services made up approximately half of this.

The closest resemblance to Airtasker on the ASX is Hipages (ASX:HPG) although it predominantly focuses on qualified tradespeople and operates as a subscription service for them.