Blackstone arm to launch India's first retail REIT, raise Rs 4,000 cr

After office real estate investment trusts (REITs), it’s time to tap the retail sector. Global investment firm Blackstone is planning to launch the first retail REIT through its Nexus Select Trust early next month in India, according to sources in the know.

The retail REIT public offer is expected to raise around Rs 4,000 crore, of which Rs 1,600 crore would be primary public offerings.
 

Earlier, Blackstone had launched Embassy REIT in 2019 and Mindspace REIT in 2021.
 

Currently, there are three listed REITs in the Indian market, all of which are related to the office space.

The group had filed the draft red-herring prospectus in mid-November with Securities and Exchange board of India (SEBI).

According to the document, Nexus Select Trust has a retail portfolio of over 3,000 stores, occupancy rate of 95 per cent and witnesses an annual footfall of over 130 million shoppers.

The Trust has a portfolio of 17 operational shopping malls across 14 major cities in India, covering around 10 million sq ft of retail space. According to sources, the total valuation of the portfolio stands at around Rs 23,000 crore.

Sources said Nexus Select Trust is aiming to double its portfolio of leasable area from 9.8 mn sq ft to 20 mn sq ft in next 4-5 years.