ENVALITH
NSグループ株式会社 logo

NS Group, Inc.

471A・Prime Market・Other Financing Business

NSグループ株式会社 logo
NS Group, Inc.471A

Business

NS Group, Inc., as a holding company, operates the rent guarantee business in a single segment through its consolidated subsidiary, Nippon Safety Co., Ltd. In its core Rent Guarantee Service, the company acts as a joint guarantor for tenants and makes subrogated payments in the event of rent arrears. Coverage spans residential, business-use, and other properties (parking lots, leased land, etc.), and the company also provides the Collection Agency Service (including Segregated Remittance Service) as an ancillary offering. Its main customers are real estate brokers and real estate management companies (agency outlets), and it particularly leverages deep relationships with real estate management companies in the Small segment, defined as those managing 1,250 units or fewer. Building on the know-how accumulated over many years by Nippon Safety Co., Ltd., founded in 1997, and a database of 4.7 million applications, the company listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 2025.

Business Model

The company employs a stock-type revenue model in which it receives a new guarantee fee from tenants at the time of contract, followed by renewal guarantee fees on either an annual or monthly basis thereafter. Of the ¥29,826 million in operating revenue for FY2025 (ending December 2025), new guarantee fees accounted for ¥14,257 million, renewal guarantee fees for ¥11,956 million, and collection agency fees and other income for ¥3,614 million. As the contract balance accumulates, renewal guarantee fees increase in a stable manner, underpinning a high EBITDA margin of 39.2%.

Company Strengths

Based on 4.7 million applications accumulated since founding, the company has developed in-house a highly accurate delinquency prediction model utilizing DataRobot Japan's AI, which was introduced into screening operations from April 2025. The company utilizes its proprietary core system SIONS (Core System) for both screening and collection operations, establishing a system capable of completing screening in approximately 2 hours on average. The company possesses data assets and operational infrastructure that competitors would find difficult to replicate in a short period.

Among real estate management companies in the Small segment with 1,250 or fewer managed units, the company holds an estimated share of approximately 10% for primary guarantees and approximately 6% for secondary guarantees (company estimate). It has built an extensive network, surpassing 60,000 registered affiliated stores in June 2023. Deep relationships with affiliated stores, which value the company's meticulous service and financial stability, serve as a key differentiator from competitors.

Renewal guarantee fees increased steadily, up 9.5% year on year to ¥11,956 million, achieving an EBITDA margin of 39.2%. The company maintains a high collection rate through its "delinquency resolution scheme," which classifies delinquency status into multiple tiers, and through a division-of-labor system within the collection team combined with scoring-based prioritization. By precisely controlling bad debt-related expenses and litigation costs, adjusted EBITDA rose 18.2% year on year to ¥13,148 million.

ENVALITH's Perspective

For the first quarter of FY2026 (ending December 2026), operating revenue was ¥7,942 million (up 12.6% year on year), operating profit was ¥2,956 million (up 18.7% year on year), and quarterly profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥1,965 million (up 28.3% year on year), achieving double-digit growth across all metrics. Progress toward the full-year forecast (operating revenue of ¥33,069 million, operating profit of ¥11,898 million) stood at 24.0% for operating revenue and 24.8% for operating profit in the first quarter, indicating generally steady progress. The earnings forecast remains unchanged from the announcement made on February 13, 2026. It should be noted that the absence of the ¥140 million in listing-related expenses recorded in the same period of the previous year contributed to the high growth rate (28.3% increase) in net profit.

As external factors, resilient rental demand—supported by rising prices of condominiums for sale in major metropolitan areas—along with rent increases driven by inflation, and growth in single-person households due to an increase in foreign workers and a rising unmarried rate, have supported revenue expansion. On the other hand, in a rising interest rate environment, upward pressure on financial expenses (¥145 million in the first quarter of FY2026 (ending December 2026), versus ¥130 million in the same period of the previous year) has continued. An increase in employee benefit expenses to ¥1,507 million (up 7.9% year on year) due to headcount expansion is also a factor behind the rise in costs. Uncertainty over trade policy in various countries also warrants attention as an indirect risk factor.

As of the end of the first quarter of FY2026 (ending December 2026), goodwill stood at ¥36,039 million (47.9% of total assets of ¥75,208 million), with intangible assets of ¥7,435 million also recorded, and impairment risk remains an item requiring ongoing monitoring. Against total borrowings of ¥25,868 million, consisting of non-current borrowings of ¥24,907 million and current borrowings of ¥961 million, equity attributable to owners of the parent stood at ¥29,024 million (equity ratio of 38.6%). EBITDA was ¥3,417 million (approximately ¥13,668 million on an annualized basis), indicating that a certain level of debt repayment capacity has been secured, but the level of financial leverage continues to warrant attention.

Growth Strategy

Building on stable growth in residential guarantees, the company aims for multifaceted growth through expansion of business-use guarantees, DX promotion, and new businesses

Leveraging deep relationships with real estate management companies in the Small segment, the company continues to acquire new guarantee contracts. New guarantee fees in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) reached ¥3,732 million (up 9.4% year-on-year), demonstrating steady growth. Maintaining and expanding the network of affiliated stores serves as the foundation for continued growth.

The company is deepening its stock-type revenue model, in which renewal guarantee fees accumulate through the renewal of existing guarantee contracts. Renewal guarantee fees in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) reached ¥3,163 million (up 10.9% year-on-year), a growth rate exceeding that of new guarantee fees, confirming the expansion of the stock revenue base.

Other revenue, including collection agency fees, achieved high growth of ¥1,048 million (up 33.4% year-on-year) in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026). This growth rate exceeds that of both new and renewal guarantee fees, contributing to revenue diversification and improved unit economics.

The company has added convenience store payment functionality and enhanced features enabling online procedure completion and information verification. These improvements aim to increase tenant convenience, thereby reducing cancellations and improving customer satisfaction, while also expected to improve operational efficiency by reducing inquiry response costs. Specific functional enhancements were implemented in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026).

The company continues to expand its workforce in preparation for future growth. Employee benefit expenses in Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) totaled ¥1,507 million (up 7.9% year-on-year). While this represents a short-term cost increase factor, it is positioned as an upfront investment toward business expansion.

Last updated: July 17, 2026