godrej properties: Godrej Properties acquires 28-acre land parcel near Bengaluru’s Whitefield

Godrej Properties, the real estate development arm of Godrej Group, has acquired a land parcel spread over 28 acres in Bengaluru to develop a mixed-use project consisting of apartments and retail development.

The land acquisition is in line with the company’s plan of strengthening its presence across key property markets of the country.

The land parcel, according to the company, is located near Outer Ring Road and Whitefield neighbourhood known for technology parks and upmarket apartments, shopping and entertainment hub.

According to local property brokers, land in Whitefield locality is currently priced above Rs 20 crore per acre. The company, however, has not disclosed the exact deal size.

Last month, the company had acquired Bollywood producer, director, and actor Raj Kapoor’s bungalow in Mumbai’s Chembur suburb to develop a premium residential project.

The Godrej Group company has been looking to leverage its brand and financial position to tap consolidation opportunities through outright acquisitions, alliances and distress situations arising in the real estate sector.

In terms of business development, GodrejProperties has added nine new projects during the quarter ended December with an estimated saleable area of nearly 17 million sq ft with a potential booking value of Rs 23,050 crore. Of these, three projects are in Mumbai region, two each in Gurgaon and Noida and one each in Pune and Kurukshetra.

The company has been expanding its portfolio in the southern part of the country too. In January, Godrej Properties acquired a 60-acre land parcel on an outright basis in Chennai’s micro market of Oragadam Junction.

It is planning to undertake a residential plotted development project on this Chennai land parcel estimated to have a development potential of 1.6 million sq ft of saleable area.

Industry experts believe the ongoing market consolidation in favour of large and established developers will gain momentum owing to their better execution ability and access to liquidity in the current market environment than that for smaller developers.

For the financial year to date, it has added 15 new projects with an estimated revenue potential of nearly Rs 27,500 crore against guidance of Rs 15,000 crore for full year 2022-23. This Kapoor family property was the 16th addition to its development portfolio, while the latest Bengaluru land deal has expanded the portfolio further.

Transactions for land parcels have started to gather momentum again with many deals including outright acquisitions and joint ventures in key property markets of Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru either being closed or expected to close soon.

The increased demand for land parcels is led by sustained recovery in the housing market and buoyed warehousing and data centres space.

In the backdrop of the increasing preference for alliances and joint development of land holdings, this is one of the few instances of an outright purchase in recent times.

Over the past few years, several realty developers have reworked their business strategies to focus on asset-light models, such as joint development, to reduce the upfront capital cost and cope with liquidity pressure.