Jerry Rao's housing firm to go public in two years

Also plans to triple the amount of built up area in the next three years, become a pan India player in affordable housing segment

Jerry Rao’s affordable housing venture, Value and Budget Housing Corp (VBHC), may go for an initial public offering in two years or so to raise funds for expansion. It also plans to triple its built-up area in the next three years and become a pan-India player in the affordable housing segment.

“We will go public in the next few years, most likely after 2015,” Rajeev Talwar, director-northern region operations, VBHC, told Business Standard.

The company also plans to go for a joint development model for setting up its projects. “We are in discussion with interested parties in Bathinda, Patiala, Sangrur and Pune among other cities to go for joint development projects, wherein we will lease land and guarantee a return to landholders,” Talwar said.

It will start seven such projects in 2013-14 through joint development and another 15 on its own.

VBHC, which started with a project in Bangalore, recently entered the northern market with a project in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, which will have 400 flats and 300 plots for sale. The company will also launch a project at Neemrana with 1,200 flats and 200 plots and Behror with 300 flats and 125 plots.

The construction at Neemrana and Behror will begin by September/October this year, he said. It also has two upcoming projects in Mumbai, one in Chennai and three in Bangalore.

VBHC aims to be a pan-India player, with presence in almost all cities in the next five years. A few years ago, the company had started giving out homes at a price of Rs 1,500 per sq ft, which has now increased to Rs 2,200. It offers studio, 1BHK and 2BHK flats in an area of 350-800 sq ft.

The company was founded by Jerry (Jaithirth) Rao, former chairman of MphasiS, P S Jayakumar (formerly consumer banking head, Citibank) and Sunil Narayan (leading real estate specialist) to address the growing need of quality housing in the country. In 2010, the company had said it planned to build over a million houses across the country in the next 10 years.

PUBLIC ROUTE

• The company was founded by Jerry (Jaithirth) Rao (above), former chairman of MphasiS; P S Jayakumar, former consumer banking head, Citibank; and Sunil Narayan, a real estate specialist, to address the growing need of quality housing in the country
• Affordable housing venture, Value and Budget Housing Corp (VBHC), may go for an initial public offering in two years or so to raise funds for expansion
• VBHC aims to be a pan-India player, with presence in almost all cities in the next five years