Shapoorji Pallonji in talks with partners to augment MIG housing platform

Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate is in talks with partners Actis, ADB and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to extend their mid-income housing platform, Joyville, said a senior executive in the company. 
 

The platform was set up in 2016 with a corpus of Rs 1,240 crore, as a partnership among Shapoorji, Standard Chartered PE, ADB and IFC. Actis took over Standard Chartered realty investment portfolio last year. Of that Rs 1,240 crore, the platform has invested Rs 850 crore. It is developing 16 million sq ft of projects at Virar near Mumbai, Kolkata, and Gurugram, among other places.

“The aim of the talks with our partners is to make the platform a going concern,” said Sriram Mahadevan, MD at Joyville Shapoorji Housing. 

According to sources, the platform could go for a second round of fund raising but this could not be confirmed. Mahadevan said they were looking to multiply projects with joint ventures and a joint development model (JV/JD), wherein the developer ties up with another or a land owner. 
 

“So far, we were buying land parcels on an outright basis. We know size, customer needs. That has helped to sell well. Now, we want to go asset-light,” he said, adding the company had sold 800 of the 1,100 units it launched in Gurugram, within eight months of this year. 

Godrej Properties and L&T Realty have grown business with JV/JD projects. Mahadevan said the firm was actively looking for land in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and looking to develop projects in Indore, Nashik and Bhopal, among others. 

Also, they were looking to launch 6-8 projects via outright land purchase and JD/JV projects, and to develop 10,000 to 15,000 units in four or five years. 
 

Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate is developing projects in Mumbai, Thane and Bengaluru. It also has a joint venture for premium projects, named SD Corp. The mid-income segment has attracted the attention of many private equity funds. HDFC Capital Advisors, the private equity investment arm of HDFC, has raised $1.2 billion for this segment and floated platforms with Mahindra Lifespaces, Prestige Estates, ATS and others for mid-income housing. 

Motilal Oswal Real Estate and ASK Property Investment Advisors are also investing in the segment.