Platform partnerships gain traction in India's real estate sector

Global investors are increasingly partnering Indian developers through platform-style deals, reflecting a shift from one-off asset acquisitions to scalable long-term strategies

Platform-style partnerships between global investors and Indian developers are expected to gain further traction over the next few years. This comes as institutional capital increasingly shifts from one-off asset acquisitions to scalable, long-term strategies.

 

Industry leaders say the evolution reflects bigger structural changes in capital flows, governance standards and risk management approaches within India’s real estate sector.

 

Alliances such as the tie-up between Mahindra Lifespace Developers and Mitsui Fudosan, as well as partnerships involving RMZ Corp-CPPIB, Hines-Kanakia, Krishna Corporation-Sumitomo Corporation, RMZ Corp-Mitsui Fudosan and Logicap Management-Mitsubishi Estate Co reflect bigger structural changes. These are mainly in capital flows, risk management practices, and the increasing formalisation of India’s property market.

 

Amit Kumar Sinha, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Mahindra Lifespace Developers, said, “They bring global expertise in design, quality and customer experience, while we contribute deep local development capabilities and execution strength. This model creates value for both sides and is likely to gain momentum.”

 

While foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into real estate have moderated compared to earlier cycles, the nature of capital is evolving.

 

Amit Goenka, founder and MD of Nisus Finance, pointed out that domestic alternative investment funds (AIFs) have raised substantial capital, reducing the sector’s reliance on overseas money.

 

According to Colliers, domestic institutional capital emerged as the primary driver of real estate investments in 2025, with inflows more than doubling year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $4.8 billion. This accounts for 57 per cent of the total investment volume during the year.

 

Meanwhile, foreign capital deployment in 2025 declined by 16 per cent to $3.7 billion. However, cross-border investments showed signs of recovery in the final quarter of the year, indicating a gradual improvement in global investor sentiment.

 

“FDI has recently focused on stabilised assets. Now, we are seeing these platform deals, particularly involving Japanese and some US investors. Here, equity is committed to grow a portfolio alongside established developers,” Goenka said.

 

Advisory firms say investors are favouring repeatable models over isolated bets.

 

Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Anarock Capital, attributes the shift to improved governance, sector consolidation and regulatory clarity. “Platforms allow larger and faster capital deployment with lower execution risk. They shift the relationship from transactional to strategic,” he said.

 

Badal Yagnik, CEO and MD at Colliers India, noted that investors are moving from asset-level bets to scalable portfolio strategies, especially in a fragmented market like India.

 

Platforms enable efficient capital deployment, enhance tax efficiency and offer clearer exit pathways through real estate investment trusts (Reits) or portfolio-level monetisation.

 

Vivek Rathi, national director — research, Knight Frank India, said higher return thresholds and tighter financing conditions have pushed investors towards phased, governance-led capital deployment.

 

“Platforms offer pipeline visibility and diversification across multiple projects, while reducing pricing risk in a high-rate environment,” he said.

 

Industry executives believe that office and logistics are leading platform activity, driven by stable cash flows and Reit potential, while warehousing benefits from supply-chain shifts.

 

Residential, especially premium, de-risked projects, are gaining traction amid strong demand. 

 

As project scale rises, global investors prefer proven local partners, with townships and industrial clusters attracting patient capital. Data centres are emerging on digital and artificial intelligence (AI) growth, with hospitality and alternative assets likely to see more joint ventures.

 

In the near term, platform deals are likely to remain concentrated among established developers with multi-city presence, robust pipelines and strong governance standards. Thirumal Govindraj, CEO of RMZ Offices and RMZ NXT, observed that institutional partners are increasingly coming in at the land acquisition stage itself, a sign of evolving risk appetite.

 

Experts believe credible mid-sized developers with clean balance sheets and disciplined execution can also attract such partnerships over time, particularly in residential and logistics segments.

 

Goenka added that although platform deals were limited to a handful of large players until recently, they are becoming more pronounced across cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi NCR. Partnerships involving commitments of $1–2 billion to build portfolios jointly signal a new phase of structured foreign participation.