Phoenix Mills looks to double its portfolio of retail properties by FY26

Joint ventures with global pension and sovereign funds in tow, mall developer Phoenix Mills is looking to double its portfolio of retail properties by FY26. And, it wants to add one million square feet each year, post FY26, said its Chairman Atul Ruia, in the annual report.

Currently, it has 6.9 million (mn) sq. ft of malls in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, and Beng­aluru, among others. Black­stone-owned Nexus Malls is the biggest mall owner in the country after it acquired malls from Prestige Estates last year. It has a portfolio of 9.5 mn sq. ft.

“We raised Rs 3,000 crore in equity through a highly successful QIP. We saw the expansion of our joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Invest­ment Board (CPPIB) for our Kolkata development and the addition of a new joint venture with GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. We are on track to deliver on the under-construction malls and expand our retail portfolio to 13 mn sq. ft by end of FY26. Beyond that, we endeavour to keep on adding at least one million sq ft of retail (space) every year,” Ruia said.

Ruia said the company’s malls are experiential hubs that serve the social needs of a safe and convenient environment in a post-pandemic world. 

“We continue to believe in the long-term consumption story of India and this is clearly evident from the consumption recovery (at 93 per cent of July 2019 levels, adjusted for non-operating categories) that we witnessed at our operational malls in July 2021. As a leader in retail infrastructure within the world’s most dynamic and lar­ge emerging economy, we believe that we’ve just begun to scratch the surface. Our growth agenda through organic growth and new asset formation continues unabated,” he said.

Ruia said the company’s focus is directed towards beco­ming a true proxy to the Indian wallet. “We want to be at the forefront of driving the consumption story of India. We aim to do this by making our assets the undisputed leaders in the cities and across different markets in India. The next phase of growth will be determined by extending presence across the country,” he added.

In a report released earlier this week, Adidhev Chatto­p­adhyay, vice-president of equ­ity research at ICICI Securities, said Phoenix has potential war chest of over Rs 3,000 crore to fuel growth: As of March 21, Phoenix had a consolidated gross debt of Rs 4,470 crore along with cash/liquid investments of Rs 1,030 crore.

With the first tranche of GIC PE fund infusion of Rs 1,110 crore in June 2021 and CPPIB’s fund infusion of Rs 380 crore in Kol­kata Mall SPV in May 2021, Phoenix has Rs 2,400 crore of liquidity as of June 2021. Apart from that, Phoenix has access to additional funds of Rs 1,000 crore for deployment in standalone business and mall SPVs, Chattopadhyay said.