Menda Family Office plans to foray into private equity, industrial parks

The Menda Family Office, which owns Bengaluru-based property developer RMZ Corp, is looking to enter areas such as private equity (PE), hospitality, and industrial parks.

It is part of the family’s plan to diversify beyond real estate, said Manoj Menda (pictured), corporate chairman at RMZ. “We can also end up buying hotels, so that we can diversify,” said Menda.

The Menda family sold a commercial property portfolio of 12 million square feet (msf) to Canada-based Brook­field Asset Manag­ement last year for Rs 14,000 crore. The deal also involved RMZ selling its co-working company CoWrks to Brookfield.

After the deal with Brookfield, RMZ had transferred income-yielding assets of 10 msf with an operating income of Rs 1,000 crore a year in the Menda Family Office. It plans to scale that to Rs 3,000 crore in the next three years.

He said the family office would invest Rs 1,000 crore in non-real estate areas, such as PE and industrial parks.

“As we complete office properties, we will shift them to the family office. We will take the operating income to Rs 3,000 crore, from Rs 1,000 crore,” he added.

Recently, Toronto-headquartered Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) signed a joint venture with RMZ to invest in the latter’s Chennai and Hyderabad properties.  

RMZ is also looking to partner another global investor for office properties, said Menda. 

Along with investor Mitsui Fudosan Co., CPPIB, and a new partner (not yet finalised), it is looking at developing another 55 msf in the country.

“Of the 55 msf, we will sell 10 msf to retire debt. From the remainder portfolio, 30 msf will be shifted to the family office,” he said.

Mitsui Fudosan came in as an investor 18 months ago as 50-per cent partner in some of RMZ’s projects.

RMZ Corp, led by corporate Chairmen Raj Menda and Manoj Menda, has properties in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.