Rebase, inc.

Business Details

Operates the platform "Instabase," which matches space listers (idle real estate owners, existing storefronts, and dedicated operators) with space users online. Employs a fully performance-based fee model, collecting a commission (up to 35%) on space usage fees from listers. The company offers multi-purpose spaces such as meeting rooms, studios, and traditional Japanese houses across all prefectures, meeting a wide range of needs including business, hobby, and event use. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), the company actively pursued upfront investments aimed at achieving dramatic growth, but the results of short-term growth initiatives remained limited.

Recent Overview

Net sales increased 13.2% on the back of expanded upfront investment, but operating profit fell sharply by 80.0% year on year

In FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales rose to ¥2,181 million (up 13.2% year on year), securing an increase in revenue. However, due to expanded upfront investment—including advertising expenses of ¥614 million (up 70.0% year on year) and commission fees paid of ¥344 million (up 32.2% year on year)—total selling, general and administrative expenses ballooned to ¥2,000 million (up 45.2% year on year), causing operating profit to plunge to ¥97 million (down 80.0% year on year). A change in accounting estimate (shortened useful life) associated with the head office relocation reduced operating profit by an additional ¥12 million. Investing cash flow resulted in an outflow of ¥331 million (including ¥156 million for deposits and guarantee money paid and ¥106 million for acquisition of tangible fixed assets), and cash and cash equivalents decreased to ¥1,192 million. As a subsequent event, in April 2026 the company took out short-term borrowings totaling ¥200 million from three banks to fund the head office relocation (3-month term, lump-sum repayment at maturity). For FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company forecasts net sales of ¥2,400 million (up 10.0%) and operating profit of ¥72 million (down 25.8%), with profit levels expected to remain low.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Increase in space supply driven by population decline, growing vacant housing stock, and expanding secondary office vacancies
• Expansion of space usage needs driven by diversifying work styles and hobbies (entrenchment of telework, increase in freelancers, etc.)
• Strengthened customer acquisition through continued growth in the number of listed spaces (new category development, expanded alliances with major companies, utilization of vacant houses)
• Improved CVR (booking conversion rate) and stronger customer acquisition through enhanced web marketing and UI/UX improvements
• Higher average unit prices driven by increases in long-duration usage, large-group usage, and large-scale corporate usage
• Low barriers to lister acquisition and a revenue expansion structure linked to total usage value, enabled by the fully performance-based fee model
• Platform differentiation through value-added features such as IoT device integration and compensation services

Risks

• Risk of a significant decline in short-term profitability due to increased costs from expanded upfront investment (operating margin of 4.5% in FY2026 ending March 2026, forecast to decline further in FY2027 ending March 2027)
• Risk that short-term growth initiatives fail to deliver results (management noted that the results of initiatives intended to contribute to Instabase's short-term growth in FY2026 ending March 2026 remained limited)
• Risk of additional funding needs associated with the head office relocation (as a subsequent event, the company took out short-term borrowings of ¥200 million with a 3-month repayment term)
• Risk of additional expense recognition due to a change in accounting estimate (shortened useful life) associated with the head office relocation (reduced profit by ¥12 million in the current period)
• Risk of expanding losses on equity-method investments in affiliated companies (equity-method investment loss of ¥19 million in FY2026 ending March 2026, up from ¥7 million in the prior period)
• Risk of intensifying price competition due to the emergence of space-sharing platforms operated by competitors
• Risk of downward pressure on personal consumption due to prolonged inflation (impact on demand for space usage)
• Uncertainty in the domestic economy stemming from U.S. policy trends and geopolitical risks
• Risk of diminished service reliability due to information security incidents (personal data leaks, unauthorized access, etc.)
• Risk of system failures or service outages (due to high traffic volumes, computer viruses, etc.)